Read the APR ISSUE #112 of Athleisure Mag and see 63MIX ROUTIN3S | Kelly Cheng in mag.
We love checking in with those that we may have learned about in a previous interview. Back in our AUG ISSUE #92, we had the pleasure of interviewing the Creator and Executive Producer of Prime Video's Surf Girls Hawai'i, Monica Medellin who introduced us to 4 surfers that we were able to watch navigating their careers and growing up. One of the surfers featured was pro surfer Brianna Cope.
We wanted to sit down to find out more about Brianna's love for the ocean, how it fuels her, competing, and how she continues to stay fit outside of surfing. With a passion for cooking, we also wanted to hear about how beach and barbecues are the perfect compliment and how she's able to make amazing meals in a portable way!
ATHLEISURE MAG: We're so excited to be chatting with you. We actually first became aware of you when we interviewed Monica Medellin (Red Bull: Making History: Women Free Ride, Teahupo’o Surf Camp: Road to Paris 2024, LA28 Stories: Black Surf) who was the Creator and Executive Producer for Surf Girls Hawai’i.
BRIANNA COPE: Yeah Surf Girls!
AM: So what was your first memory of surfing and when did you fall in love with it?
BC: Oh, this is like, one of my favorite parts to talk about just because I feel like it just was the best moment of my life, I was actually born with a small hand. So, I started surfing at 3 or 4 years old, and that first wave, you know, you fall down, and it's the best thing because you're like, I just can't wait to do it again, right?
AM: Yeah.
BC: I’ve done so many other sports like, you fall down - ice skating or skateboarding. You're like, eh I don’t know if I want to do that again.
AM: Right.
BC: But in surfing, for me, there is this thrill and that excitement! That connection with something so much bigger than us, like the ocean was really cool for me.
AM: Wow!
When did you realize that you wanted to do it professionally?
BC: Probably the next day. I know that it was a really, really young age. That was my calling in life and the connection that I had with the ocean was much deeper, like, I just felt so much more relaxed when I was in the ocean. Like, you know, when people go and surf sometimes, they're like, oh, I feel nervous, right? The water for me was so healing, and I knew at a really young age. I want to say like when I was really younger, I knew I wanted to be a pro surfer.
AM: That's amazing.
About Surf Girls Hawai’i, what made you want to be a part of that show?
BC: I think for me, wanting to be a part of Surf Girls Hawai’i for Hello Sunshine was about women’s empowerment, right?
Like in sports, we are always told to be better than the other person, or to beat them. Don't get me wrong, I'm very competitive, but I think there's something more powerful to like living in the moment and supporting each other and uplifting instead of tearing each other down, so that's exactly why. A lot of my friends are on the show, so it was really fun.
AM: I mean, it was so fun to watch and we just loved digging into the sport more and seeing the dynamics between you.
When is the surfing season and how has it been going so far for you?
BC: So, the surfing season, thankfully, we get to surf year round, especially living in Hawaii! We have amazing waves. The competitive surf season starts in June this year, and it goes until the end of the year, because of the late start.
The CT starts in January, but the Challenger Series starts a little later. So, in the meantime, I'm competing in a couple races, which is super fun.
AM: Nice.
BC: I love it more for the mental challenge and it’s second nature for me. But, I'm getting ready to run 410 miles in a relay race known as The Speed Project from LA to Vegas with some friends. So that’s a really fun push, and I feel like it translates into my surfing of wanting to push in bigger waves and stuff.
AM: Can’t even imagine, but that sounds fantastic!
What do you consider to be your superpower in terms of when you're surfing?
BC: Oh, I think, for me, it's the connection with the ocean. I just feel like I have a really good read on it, and that's my superpower. I feel like it's the thing I'm most connected to in the world, like when my friends go and hike and they say that they feel so grounded, I never feel that I feel very grounded in the ocean, I think. For me, it's the connection I have to the ocean.
AM: Honestly, you have such a peaceful Vibe.
BC: Ha! It’s crazy because I was in a rush to get on here and I was all stressed!
AM: Well just listening to you – love this Vibe. We need this around us, a lot more!
BC: Call me anytime.
AM: So obviously you love the water and surfing is such a great way to stay in shape. What are three workouts that you do outside of, you know, surfing, or, or in the ocean in general that keeps you in shape because our readers always like knowing what can we add into our routines?
BC: For sure. I think for me, I'm big into strength working out. So, like, I do a lot of rotation movements. I do a lot of squats to build the strength in my lower body and of course, I’m really into running right now. I just love that more for the exertion because you're running for a certain amount of time. Surfing is so quick. You catch a wave, then you're back out there. There is a lot of sitting, so I feel like running really helps. I like to swim, but I am a bad swimmer. My form isn’t great ha – but swimming is really fun for me, too.
AM: How do you take time for yourself when you need a reset?
BC: That's a great question because I love to just go go go, like, if I could, I would go 24/7!
AM: Same.
BC: You just want to take over.
AM: Yep.
BC: Whatever you can do is great. Meditation is really big for me. I love starting my morning off with that and like, for me, I need to have that, like, even if it's 5-10 minutes in the morning to, like, set my day up. That's important. And just like, honestly, listening to my body, I'm not the best at doing it.
AM: Same.
BC: I feel that my glutes are a little sore, but I’ll think to myself that I should still go run. You know, taking that time, in a sauna or in a cold plunge every day, I think that's really helpful.
AM: Well, when you think about going to the beach, here in New York we do have our beaches and obviously, we think about beach activities, but we also think about, barbecuing, and various foods when it comes to the beach. Do you enjoy cooking and what do you love making?
BC: I love to cook! That's actually how I feel like I cannot be on my phone. I'm super present. You're just like in the flow, and it's my favorite thing to do. I actually grew up watching my grandma cook, and then I just took on that tradition myself, but in Hawaii it’s super normal to have beach barbecues, right? You are gonna go down the beach and somebody's gonna be barbecuing or somebody's gonna be cooking on the beach. It’s so normal for me, and when Gozney made this new oven, I was like this is perfect for whether I'm on the beach or if I want to do it after a hike. It's also really light, because like sometimes, you don't really want to start a fire from scratch. I might starve if I do that. But it’s super easy and growing up on an island that was so second nature for us.
AM: And how did the partnership happen because it seems like it’s such a natural synergy.
BC: I slid into Tom Gozney's DMs, the owner of Gozney.
AM: Nice!
BC: I told him I was a huge fan of everything that they were doing. I freaking love to cook. I literally made steak on the Gozney last night.
AM: Oh wow!
BC: You can make so many things on the Gozney.
AM: Nice! We like a multi-purpose situation.
BC: As much as I would like to eat pizza every single day, sometimes I gotta switch it up, right? I like to make food, and so when I saw everything that they were doing, I was like, this is so cool. It's so adventurous, it's not like the typical fine dining. Like, I don't know how to plate my plate like that. But I love to cook and I like having my oven and having a perfect pizza in your house is amazing.
AM: I mean, that must be amazing - now knowing that you put a whole steak in there, you can make all these things and be virtually anywhere to create these dishes.
BC: Yeah, actually. When we were doing the shoot for the Tread and we had pizza on the beach, and it was super fun, but then we took it the next day, and I actually tried to make a steak on the beach and it was pretty cool.
I love to just cook and to be able to hang out with your friends. I feel like on the beach, it’s such a great place to do it and to enjoy it!
AM: What does this partnership look like in terms of what we will see you doing with Gozney?
BC: Hopefully more adventure stuff. I mean, they're so fun to work with. It's like they let me, do you know kind of whatever I want in the content space. It's so nice to just be able to like express how I use the oven. It's been a long partnership and they're awesome.
AM: Are there any upcoming projects that we should keep an eye out for? I know that you're going into competitions, and we have this great season ahead.
BC: I mean, I think there's always things coming out. I'm pretty sporadic, too. I'm always like I have a calendar, but I never really look at it.
AM: Wow!
BC: Staying tuned on Instagram is probably the best way to keep up for sure.
IG @briannacope
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | Gozney Ambassador Brianna Cope | 63MIX ROUTIN3S Brianna Cope/IG |
Read the MAR ISSUE #111 of Athleisure Mag and see BBQ BEACH BITES WITH BRIANNA COPE in mag.
Read the OCT ISSUE #106 of Athleisure Mag and see 63MIX ROUTIN3S | Sydney Leroux in mag.
At the Tokyo 2020 Summer Games, Climbing made it's Olympic debut and it returned at Paris 2024. We caught up with Natalia Grossman who competed in her first Olympic Games with Team USA in this sport! We wanted to know more about the sport, her specialty of Bouldering, how her career has been going as she went pro in 2019, where she enjoys climbing around the world, what it means to be an Olympian and to be in the Olympic Village. We also wanted to know about what self-care means to her as well as to partner with Olay.
ATHLEISURE MAG: What is your first memory of climbing?
NATALIA GROSSMAN: I think that my first memory is just walking into the climbing gym and I still remember it pretty vividly. Just, being in awe of how tall the walls looked and all of the bright colors. I was just very drawn to it.
AM: When did you realize that you wanted to climb professionally?
NG: Probably pretty late in life honestly. It’s pretty hard to be a professional climber. I feel like there is just a handful of us in the US who make a living off of it. So I’m very grateful to be able to do that. It probably didn’t occur until my first success in 2021 on the World Cup scene that I realized that this could be my job.
AM: How does one train to become a climber professionally?
NG: It’s just like any other sport! You have to dedicate a lot of time, commit to it, and be dedicated. I wouldn’t say that it is anything crazy! Climbing is the best way to be a climber!
AM: We have had the pleasure of talking to an array of athletes across various sports. So when we talk to those that swim, fence, or surf they have a specialty that they do like swimmers who only do backstroke. Is there a specialty in climbing that you do and can you tell us more about that?
NG: So we have 3 different disciplines in climbing. I partake in 2 of them. I’d say that I am best in Boudlering so that’s my specialty, but there are 100s of moves within Boudlering. I’d like to think that I am a pretty well rounded climber, but Bouldering is definitely my favorite discipline. (Editor’s Note: Climbing consists of Speed, Bouldering, and Lead. Speed Climbing is one of form of indoor rock climbing where athletes compete for the fastest time to the top of the climbing wall. Bouldering Climbing is a form of free climbing that is performed on small rock formations of artificial rock walls without the use of ropes or harness. Lead Climbing involves attempting to climb as high as an athlete can on a wall measuring more than 15m in height within 6 mins.)
AM: Climbing is obviously a total body workout for training. But is there anything else that you do besides climbing to optimize you in the sport?
NG: Honestly, not too much. We do off the wall weight training, lots of PT stuff, rehab, maintenance like body work and massage work. We do dry needling (Editor’s Note: A treatment that uses thin needles to stimulate and break up muscle tissue knots to help with pain and movement issues), ice baths, and saunas.
AM: You have climbed all over the world! Do you have 3 favorite spots that you like to climb?
NG: I guess with climbing, there is outdoor climbing, but there is also indoor competitions. Or sometimes competitions that are outside, but they are on an artificial wall. I’d say that my favorite place to climb on real rocks is Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, and my 2 favorite spots that I like to climb that are indoors is Innsbruck, Austria is the Kletterzentrum Innsbruck which is the largest gym in the world! It’s awesome and has 60,000 square feet of climbing surface. Another place would probably be Arco, Italy. I have lots of memories there and I love the little town there.
AM: When you realized that you would be going to Paris for Team USA, what did that mean to you?
NG: Yeah, I qualified back in Nov. and it was just such a special moment to have all of the work that I have done to pay off. It has been such a goal of mine to be here.
AM: Are you staying in the Olympic Village and if so, have you met any athletes that are on your bucket list or have you tried the Chocolate Muffins that everyone is raving about?
NG: I am staying in The Village and I have met a couple of other athletes as I have tried not to fan girl too much! I was pretty siked to meet Noah Lyles (Team USA Track & Field G1, B2) and that was pretty cool. Yes, I have had the muffins every day and I guess this would be day 5!
AM: In 2021, you became the World Champion which had not been done by an American climber in 20 years, and you did this very early on in your pro career which is quite an accomplishment. Your mantra is Smile and Fight. What does that mean to you?
NG: I mean, 2021 was kind of crazy! I feel like it kind of came out of nowhere and to me, just smiling and fighting through every moment, through every competition, kind of became my trademark and it’s just something that my coach came up with and I always want to enjoy what I am doing. So if I am enjoying it, I am going to smile and I always want to give my best effort so I will keep fighting!
AM: What the next tournament or competition that we should keep an eye out for?
NG: I’ll be competing next most likely in the IFSC Climbing World Cup Prague 2024 which is in late Sept. as well as the IFSC World Cup Seoul 2024 which is in early Oct.
AM: You have partnered with Olay which is the Official Facial Cleanser of Team USA, why is this partnership important and synergistic to you?
NG: I think that skincare and coming up with a routine is very important and I am someone that thrives off of routine and I love routine! So being able to use the cleansing melts, the moisturizers as an everyday routine that I can do when I travel or when I am home, it gives me that sense of consistency.
AM: We feel that when we do our beauty routines, it’s a great way to start and end our day in terms of self-care. What does self-care mean to you and why is it so important?
NG: I think that self-care can mean lots of things and physically being able to do the things that make you feel good and takes care of your body, but also it’s about taking care of your mind. You need to feel your emotions and have people that you can talk to and not hiding what you’re really feeling.
AM: Your biggest tool is your hands we’re sure. Are there specific things that you do to keep them ready for your next climb?
NG: I mean, I use gloves whenever I apply products on my body and I will use chalk when I am climbing to make sure that they are dry.
PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS | PG 78 Daniel Milchev/Red Bull Content Pool | PG 80 Erich Spiess/ASP/Red Bull Content Pool G | PG 83 Olay |
Read the AUG ISSUE #104 of Athleisure Mag and see FIGHT & SMILE | Natalia Grossman in mag.
Read the AUG ISSUE #104 of Athleisure Mag and see 9PLAYLIST Sara Hughes in mag.
As we navigate the summer, there are a number of events that are always on our mind! With the US Open around the corner, Citi Taste of Tennis kicks off a series of events as well as the Grand Slam that gets everyone excited! At Citi Taste of Tennis, you're able to enjoy some of the best chefs and restaurants as well as seeing your favorite tennis players who will be playing at the US Open as well as veterans together! We've enjoyed attending over the years and look forward to attending on Aug 22nd at Gotham Hall with this year's host, Prakash Amritraj. We wanted to know more about this event as well as others that are part of Taste of Tennis. We sat down with AYS Sports Marketing CEO, Penney Lerner to get all the details.
ATHLEISURE MAG: Before we delve into this year's Citi Taste of Tennis, I wanted to know more about AYS Sports Marketing and who this producer is?
PENNY LERNER: Citi Taste of Tennis was created by AYS Sports Marketing, a woman-owned experiential marketing agency started in 1996 by mother and daughter duo, Judi and Penny Lerner.
AM: When did Taste of Tennis launch and why was this created?
PL: The principals at AYS worked with various tennis tournaments for many years and, in doing so, developed close relationships with tennis players, agents, and other industry insiders. With their fingers on pulse on the state of professional tennis, they identified an exciting and untapped opportunity. While tennis featured top-notch tournaments and A-list players, there were no high profile “off the court” events that were prominent in so many other sports. To fill this void, AYS created the Taste of Tennis in 1999.
In 2000, AYS hosted the first Taste of Tennis event in NYC headlined by Andre Agassi and celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse. The event combined food prepared by top chefs, celebrity appearances, entertainment and an Oscar's style red carpet. The event was instantly a hit among players, fans, sponsors and the media. Since then, the Taste has become a who’s who of tennis stars, culinary personalities and celebrities. Past attendees include Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Rafael Nadal, Coco Gauff, Mike Tyson, Eva Longoria, Marcus Samuelsson, Lana Del Rey, Naomi Osaka, Andy Roddick, John Legend, Chrissy Teigen, Olivia Culpo, Maria Sharapova, John McEnroe, Nick Kyrgios, Al Roker, Tamron Hall, Billie Jean King, Morimoto, Monica Seles, and many others
AM: We have attended Citi Taste of Tennis for a few years and have enjoyed them each time. In addition to NY, you have a Taste of Tennis London, Indian Wells, Washington D.C., and Miami. What do you look for when it comes to deciding on bringing a Taste of Tennis to a city as we assume that it involves doing it in tandem with a tennis match?
PL: Citi Taste of Tennis has occurred in many different cities over the past 10 years, from Melbourne to London to New York City to Toronto. We are always evaluating cities that have unique culinary offerings, have the potential for new digital content and most importantly, have tennis happening nearby!
AM: In terms of the upcoming Citi Taste of Tennis what does the calendar look like in terms of planning? Can you tell us what you are focused on when you're a year out, 6 months, 3 months, and a month away?
PL: Citi Taste of Tennis is a brand. We focus on it for 12 months of the year and are constantly evaluating new markets, rising chefs and culinary trends, up and coming tennis players, unique venues, inspiring digital content, social media, sponsorships and more. It’s a big undertaking, and we have a great team and after 24 years, hundreds of hours of digital content and 75+ events, we have a solid understanding of what the brand requires.
AM: This year, you are returning to Gotham Hall. Each year, these events blend players, fans, and cuisine. Can you tell us what we should expect this year?
PL: Guests will enjoy cuisine prepared by 20 leading chefs including Mischa Tsumura (No. 5 Best Restaurant in the World – Maido) and Antonio Bachour (World’s Best Pastry chef 2018, 2022). They will also be treated to special appearances by a number of top tennis stars including 8-Time Grand Slam Champion Andre Agassi, Qinwen Zheng (World #7) and Alexander Zverev (World #4). There will also be great food and fun promotions provided by our sponsors including Segafredo Zanetti Coffee, Scenic Cruises, Boar’s Head, Barbados Tourism Board, Liquid Death and Savas Health.
AM: Is there anything new being added to this year's event?
PL: We are producing a live cooking competition between Chef Mischa and Chef Antonio with WTA player Qinwen Zheng and ATP player Zhizhen Zhang which Andre Agassi will judge!
AM: Outside of the events associated with tennis tournaments, what does Taste of Tennis do throughout the year?
PL: Taste of Tennis started out as a 3-hour culinary event and has evolved into one of the most popular brands in pro tennis. In addition to the 3 North American events, we currently produce, Taste of Tennis is also an Official Sponsor of the Giorgio Armani Tennis Classic at Hurlingham (UK). This year, we will also have a Taste of Tennis experience at the National Bank Open (Toronto). We have a full-time staff dedicated to managing all elements of the brand including sales, culinary, digital content, production, and public relations. Suffice to say it's a year-round program.
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | Taste of Tennis
Read the JUL ISSUE #103 of Athleisure Mag and see CITI TASTE OF TENNIS in mag.
Read the JUL ISSUE #103 of Athleisure Mag and see 63MIX ROUTIN3S Jordan Chiles in mag.
There are so many elements that surround the Olympics, each time the world's best athletes showcase their passion, dedication, and commitment to their sport. With a range of activities that take place, we love finding out more. We had the pleasure to chat with Chef Alexandre Mazzia who is the chef/owner of AM Par Alexandre Mazzia the hottest 3 MICHELIN Star restaurant in Marseille and a former professional basketball player, and he will be one of 3 top French chefs who will be preparing 40,000 meals in the Olympic Village during Paris 2024!
We wanted to find out more about his days as an athlete, his continued love of basketball, how he got into the culinary industry, AM Par, being at the Olympic Games and even being able to take part in running with the Olympic flame as a Torchbearer!
ATHLEISURE MAG: You spent your childhood in the Republic of Congo. What was that like and what about living there shaped the way that you looked at the world?
CHEF ALEXANDRE MAZZIA: I was born in Pointe-Noire in the Congo, at the Clinique des Manguiers. My cooking is neither Congolese nor Marseillaise, but it is inevitably somehow influenced by its environment, with most of the products coming from the Marseillaise environment. It's this Marseillaise and Congolese luminosity that is imprinted.
Spices and chilli are things that are now part of French cuisine that weren't there a few years ago (6-7 years ago). Today, people are a bit more assertive. I leaned on my roots, on the person I was, because it's true that I can't go against who I am. So it was important for me, in a natural way, to transcribe my cooking. And my cooking is described through the roasting, through the chillies, through the spices that are fundamentally who I am.
So, I'd say that my cooking is sparkling, distinctive, sincere, transparent, but yes, it's influenced by my childhood, my entire career, and, above all, by a great intensity.
AM: You graduated with a science degree, but for a time, you were a professional basketball player while you were navigating working in the culinary industry! When did you realize that you wanted to be a chef?
CHEF AM: My journey into the culinary world isn't as straightforward as many might think. Initially, I pursued a science degree, which was a completely different path. Interestingly, during that time, I also had a stint as a professional basketball player. It was a unique period when I was balancing my passion for sports with an emerging interest in the culinary arts. The transition from being on the basketball court to standing behind a kitchen counter wasn't immediate. It evolved over time as I became more immersed in cooking, discovering it as my true calling.
My realization that I wanted to be a chef dawned on me gradually rather than as a sudden epiphany. While playing basketball, I started to explore cooking more seriously. It wasn't just a hobby; it was a passion that kept growing, compelling me to delve deeper into the culinary world. Despite the stark differences between the two fields, I found that both required a similar level of dedication, creativity, and perseverance.
AM: Where did you train and what were some of the kitchens that you worked in prior to opening AM Par Alexandre Mazzia?
CHEF AM: My career path is one that can be called atypical. Immediately after my baccalaureate, I was lucky to attend a cooking school where I learnt the basics of cooking and general knowledge of the Hospitality industry. It gave me a chance to master the practical skills of cooking. After that, I acquired several diplomas and certifications, with a specialisation in pastry, chocolate and candy manufacturing. I got those diplomas while alternating school classes and work. It allowed me to build experience very quickly while discovering a world I felt I belonged to.
From that time on, I started accepting myself more. Since I came from abroad and only arrived in France at the age of 15, in the beginning, I used to be very independent. Cooking allowed me to travel a lot and open up. And then my passion became more than a passion. It became the source of my inspiration and motivation from which I learnt all my knowledge - practical and theoretical. It helped me learn about general culture, people, and Chefs and understand better the different cultures present around the world. Not just on a country level but regionally too. I also got to understand a great deal about “savoir-faire” (know-how) varieties making the base of French cuisine. It allowed me to have a strong knowledge foundation on the matter. As I travelled, I got to discover new flavours and become more aware of the importance of textures in cooking.
AM: How do you define your style of cooking and what influences it?
CHEF AM: My cooking blends spice, smoke, and chilli, linking to my childhood in Pointe-Noir, Congo, to my life in Marseille. My signature spice mix includes galangal, ginger, and cumin, enhancing the flavour and depth of each dish. Smokey aromas from burnt woods like vine shoots and olive tree add complexity, while my knowledge of over 45 types of chillies introduces a dynamic tension and variety in heat and flavour. I wanted this culinary approach to celebrate a fusion of oceanic and smoky elements with a vibrant chilli kick.
AM: You opened AM Par Alexandre Mazzia in 2014 in Marseille. What do you love about Marseille and why did you want to open your own restaurant?
CHEF AM: AM Par Alexandre Mazzia is a glimpse of my soul. It is about discovering myself through my cuisine. There is a wordplay in the name of my restaurant, in all subtlety, is a display of transparency and authenticity. It is a place where I give the best of myself, as I am devoted to its guests.
AM: What does it mean to you to have received your first Michelin star in 2015 after your restaurant was open for a year, your second in 2019, and your third star in 2021 for AM Par Alexandre Mazzia?
CHEF AM: All awards that my restaurant has won are equally important to me. Each award represents a recognition of our hard work, dedication, and commitment to providing the best dining experience to our guests. The awards have also motivated my team to perform at their best and maintain the high standards that we have set for ourselves.
There's no real success here. It's just a continuation of work that's been going on for many years. And I think that the way of looking at things was a bit different before, or the way of operating was different before. Today it's part of a collective vision, in other words, we've opened doors. We've given the keys to a way of working, but also to a totally personal way of operating.
I'd say that success is the fact of being, of doing just what you are with complete transparency, but with passion. It's a unique cuisine, my cuisine. It's so personal that I don't think anyone else can do it. So that's why people from all over the world want to discover it, why we've won all these awards, and why these awards represent our know-how.
AM: For those that have yet to dine at your restaurant, tell us about the ambiance that we can expect when we walk through the doors?
CHEF AM: At our restaurant, we offer a unique and memorable experience with 8 tables that seat up to 22 people and a team of 26 dedicated individuals. Our cuisine is "transversal," bringing together the best of local produce from fishermen, farmers, and tableware designers. Our dishes are created using a personal "alphabet of taste" developed from my own experiences. It is an extraordinary experience that many guests have never experienced before.
AM: You believe in the Triangle of Tastes - tell us more about this and how it weaves into your dishes.
CHEF AM: My cooking blends spice, smoke, and chilli, linking to my childhood in Pointe-Noir, Congo, to my life in Marseille. My signature spice mix includes galangal, ginger, and cumin, enhancing the flavour and depth of each dish. Smoky aromas from burnt woods like vine shoots and olive tree add complexity, while my knowledge of over 45 types of chillies introduces a dynamic tension and variety in heat and flavour. I wanted this culinary approach to celebrate a fusion of oceanic and smoky elements with a vibrant chilli kick.
AM: You are 1 of 3 French Chefs that will be catering the Paris 2024 Olympic Games - this is such an honor, but as someone who has been an athlete, what does it mean to you to be able to serve your country and the world in this way?
CHEF AM: I think it's a source of pride, pride for me, for my family, pride for the people, to represent France for the duration of the Olympic Games. It's a way of showcasing expertise, a signature, and a career. I think that I'm always thinking of people transmitting everything that I've done, which showcases a whole range of skills that are, I would say, quite simply unique.
AM: How long have you been planning what you will make and can you tell us some of the items that you plan on cooking? When it comes to meeting the neuro-nutritional challenge of feeding athletes, what have you been keeping in mind?
CHEF AM: I'm first and foremost a chef, so our unique know-how is our ability to adapt. We adapt on a daily basis, we're there to serve our customers, it's our daily job to adapt to the allergies of diners who don't eat this or that product. But beyond that, when they came looking for me to take part in the Olympic Games, of course, I knew very well that I was going to be working for the athletes, so I needed all my work over the years with the nutritionist, sports doctor, physical trainer, mental trainer and a certain federation of different disciplines so that I could have as many skills as possible to satisfy the demands I was going to have. So it's true that I worked for the athletes. It wasn't necessarily more complicated. All I had to do was concentrate on the tastes and flavours and simply be myself, just as I am in my everyday life. What I think and what the OCOG and Sodexo Live! wanted to achieve was to find someone who represented their region and, above all, who had a sporting background and who was bound to be able to adapt in a simple way. It's about putting our expertise at the service of athletes, for their performance and recovery. It also means playing for a team, playing for the "Olympic Games" that are taking place in France.
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | Chef Alexandre Mazzia
Read the JUN ISSUE #102 of Athleisure Mag and see COOKING FOR CHAMPIONS | Chef Alexandre Mazzia in mag.
We were invited to Life Time at PENN 1 for an exclusive event for their VIP Pickleball event that allows us to see the unveiling of their 7 courts at this location in Midtown, NYC! The event kicked off with a conversation with the company's founder, Bahram Akradi, Founder and CEO as well as tennis icon, Andre Agassi, with 60 ATP Tour Wins, 8 Grand Slam Titles (Singles – Australian Open 1995, 2000, 2001, 2003; French Open 1999; Wimbledon 1992; US Open 1994, 1999), and Team USA Tennis Olympic Gold Medalist for the Summer Games in 1996. This tennis champ has been passionate about pickleball and won $1M and the Pickleball Slam 1 2023 with his partner Andy Roddick against John McEnroe and Michael Chang. This year, he won the $1M purse and Pickleball Slam 2 with his wife, Steffi Graf as they beat John McEnroe and Maria Sharapova.
Andre was recently announced as inaugural chair of the Life Time Pickleball and Tennis Board with the goal of expanding access, enhancing programming and building community.
In addition to the Q+A we saw both men play exhibition tournaments with JOOLA Pros Anna Bright, Collin Johns, Ben Johns, and Tyson McGuffin.
LIFE TIME: Ladies and Gentleman welcome to our VIP Pickleball Event that is launching the 7 gorgeous new pickleball courts that we have here at Lifetime Pickleball in the heart of NYC! Today, we’re also partnering with JOOLA Pickleball as they recently launched their Generation 3 line of paddles with JOOLA Pros’ Anna Bright, Collin Johns, Ben Johns, and newcomer to JOOLA, Tyson McGuffin. All of them will be joining us in just a few moments.
Before that, I’d like to introduce 2 dynamic men! An ambassador in the world of health and fitness, along with being champions of the JOOLA and Life Time brands. One of these men is the Founder and CEO of Life Time, the other, career highlights include the winner of the first ever Pickle Slam partnering with Andy Roddick, side note is that he also won 8 Grand Slams and has an Olympic Gold medal! Let’s have a round of applause for Andre Agassi and Bahram Akradi.
So Andre, pickleball, what’s the first thing that you thought when you heard that word for the first time?
ANDRE AGASSI: I thought, why that name? Then I took 15mins to just sit with it and it took about a 20min learning curve and I fell in love with it.
LT: How about you Bahram, the first time that you heard of pickleball, what went through your mind?
BAHRAM AKRADI: At first I thought that it was just a sport for very, very, very, old people.
LT: So what is this sport, who are the people that play, and now we’re here in NYC specifically, talking about pickleball. So Bahram, when you first played, you said that we had to get more of this here at Life Time. And now, Life Time is the biggest provider of pickleball courts in the country. What was your vision for pickleball at first and has it come to fruition?
BA: Yes, so, I remember playing tennis in some of our other clubs and I saw these taped lines on the courts and I found it was because people were trying to play pickleball on them. Then people just started asking for us to have courts that were specific to this game. So I thought, well if I give them courts designed for pickleball, they will stop putting tape on my pickleball courts!
So we took one club and we took 1 tennis court and make it into 4 Pickleball courts and we did that to another tennis court. So then I thought that that would be the end of that! Then once I started playing it, I did it for 2 hours and I got hooked. I started with doubles, and then I began playing singles and that’s when I saw the opportunity for this sport! I saw how all kinds of people at all kinds of levels could play. We had the opportunity to have people come here with our large facilities, we have quickly grown to become the largest owner and operator of permanent pickleball courts, topping more than 680 permanent courts nationwide (including the most in New York City with nine), and serving as a host site for multiple MLP and PPA tournaments nationwide in addition to its own Pickleball Classic. So we wanted to take a run at it and I think that we have done that!
LT: To you Andre, what about your process of being a pickleball player as well as looking at your phenomenal tennis career?
AA: First of all, I just want to know with everyone that’s here, how many of you have played pickleball? Look at all these hands – why are you asking me this question haha?
For me, what I really appreciated so quickly about it separately from inside the lines is when you’re playing tennis, you have to spend a 1-2.5 years before the game opens up to you. It’s that feeling that you’re not so concerned with what you are doing with the ball – you’re thinking of what you are trying to accomplish. With pickle, you’re able to get out there and connect quickly and there is a low point of injury involved.
Then there is the dynamics of family as my extended family as well as my wife’s who are from Germany when they come, we can all play together and we’re all different levels. I would say that we would all be out there – aunts, uncles, cousins, etc and no one had their phones out for 2 hours. The phones are on the side.
For me, what the hell can I do at this age that I can actually get better at? I mean I have gotten better at so many things in my life already – except for pickleball and I am getting better! You know, I’m a tortured perfectionist and when I think about playing pickleball versus tennis, the thrill of having to unlearn some of the sensibilities that I had as a tennis player right? But I also had to maintain some skills right? I am able to put my mind to the task and I get the reward of seeing all of that come together and I can only see this sport continuing to grow as it has. I feel that if we have X amount of people playing right now, we’ll be able to 10X that in no time at all!
LT: Andre is long on pickleball, I love that!
Now, you had mentioned that you have been playing with your family – your wife – I mean she’s major! Do you prefer playing with her or against her?
AA: I mean, she has crossed some finish lines in her life!
LT: A lot of us have significant others, spouses, that we play with so it’s always interesting to know!
AA: I like playing on her side because we are connected and that’s how you start to really understand what your partner is like and what you can and can’t do and to start morphing into their game. It’s cool to be on the same side of the net and that way you won’t feel guilty body bagging her! I mean, she has a few shots that are unique and then there are other things that don’t translate so well. She wants to play everything pretty traditionally. She’s always expressed her energy and her blood pressure through physical output so she was like a racehorse on the tennis court, but for me, my energy was always shot making when I was on the tennis court. It was about taking the ball and doing something with it.
So some things translate a lot easier when playing pickleball, but it’s fun watching her get past that first part and then seeing her get into her stride in this game. She just started playing singles after starting with doubles and you know, there’s one thing I don’t know how this sport works with someone who struggles with their knees. So she’s being careful and she has a cyst in her knee so once that thing gets drained and her knee feels good, she wants to play singles.
LT: Andre, just so you know, that was also a singles challenge right there for Bahram to play Steffani in singles. Are your kids approaching you to play pickleball or are you approaching them?
AA: Well, my kids – my son is a senior at USC and our daughter, thank God still lives with us at home as education and school wasn’t her thing. She’s artistic and does her own thing, she’ll get out there and play. My son plays baseball so when he hits something, he’s not thinking about it staying within a certain perimeter.
LT: He likes to be out there with the foul balls!
Bahram, how did you and Andre meet and what makes you excited to bringing Andre on board as the Chair for Raquet and Paddle Sports here at Life Time?
BA: We started working together 15 years ago and we continued to grow as really close friends. I have all the love and admiration for his intelligence and athleticism. I have always loved Andre and I have always hoped that when the right time came, that we would be able to partner together and to do something good that would be for the greater good. Life Time is the largest provider of pickleball and we wanted to be able to continue to deliver and offer tennis and pickleball and there was no better person that I could imagine to be the chair of our tennis and pickleball board. With his vision, his insight and I called him and asked what he thought about this. When he told me about his vision and how it would utilize our platform, it was a no-brainer for me.
LT: Andre, we are approaching the 30th Anniversary of you winning your very first US Open. What kind of memories does that bring back for you?
AA: Well, I had hair.
LT: Where were we then? Was it touching your shirt?
AA: The hair was going past the shirt!
You know, it’s such a profound place in my professional journey as well as in my personal journey. You guys not only watched me grow up, you helped me grow up. You really did. I was 18 years old playing Jimmy Connors at night giving him the beating that he deserved! Someone yelled out, “Jimmy, he’s a bum, you’re a legend!” and I remember thinking that I got the legend part, but what? Then fast forward and I got into something that I had done my whole life in front of those people and then down the road after my journey, saying goodbye when I finally retired.
LT: Well I mean, we have an exhibition coming up shortly today!
AA: Yeah, I was told about that! I’m ready!
LT: On that note, let’s bring in our 4 JOOLA Pros, Anna Bright, Collin Johns, Ben Johns, and JOOLA newcomer, Tyson McGuffin! Come on down here! So we’re going to ask our pros a few questions right now so that we can get to know them a little better and then we will head down to the Life Time Pickleball courts as we have a a whole stadium court set up. I wonder if you thought about that this morning Andre?
AA: Ok, I’ m nervous enough!
LT: I mean, it’s almost like a US Open crowd!
So starting off with Anna since you have a microphone in your hand, what excites you the most about pickleball?
ANNA BRIGHT: I think you know, it’s so cool that everybody is here to experience the joy of pickleball and to see us and to watch it! What I love most is the growth of it and not knowing where the sport is going to take us! When I first started playing 2 and a half years ago, I never thought that I would be here in NYC to play a tournament here to meet people and to talk about this game! There’s on way to really know how this game will look in a year or 2 years especially since you have the Pro level and I feel like we’re always kind of being pulled around on a chain by the powers that be, but it’s crazy to see the growth of the amateur game and I hope that we will be back here next year and will need more seating! I’m kind of excited and I don’t even know for what specifically, but I can’t wait to see where it goes in the next few years.
LT: Bright future, Anna Bright! Hopefully we will need more seating and have more people in here next year.
Tyson, I’ve watched you drill on the courts and a 2 hour session turns into a 3 hour session and I think that your T-shirts were more wet than is humanly possible. What are you working on to improve your pickleball game? More specifically, to beat these 3 people around you actually and to beat up on Mr. Agassi today?
TYSON MCGUFFIN: Yeah I think that for me, I have lost some top matches this year. So I think that walking in and raising the level mentally and being a little tougher in those moments. I think that at the highest level, we are all really talented and it’s just about that when the going gets tough and your back is against the wall, you just have to mentally lock in and dial in. I want to say thank you New York and let’s go New York Knicks!
LT: Collin, you’re a professional pickleball player. There was a time when you were not a professional pickleball player.
What advice would you give to somebody that is trying to be a professional pickleball player or what's one thing that was really integral in your path as you went Pro?
COLLIN JOHNS: Um, being Ben’s brother probably is a good start. The tennis journey, I did that for many years and then coming over to pickleball, I think that that just let me witness that I was playing a different sport. There are certain things that are going to help you as background significantly, but there are other things that you have to learn how to change. If you look at the players that have had the most success, especially relatively rapidly – they are very open to learning the game and that was really good for me. It was certainly a credit to the guy on my left that helped me along the way. But, the event today and one I did yesterday, it’s just amazing to see where the sport has grown since I started playing. I’m very excited about being here today.
LT: Speaking of the guy to your left, Ben, you’re the middle of 7 children! What was it like growing up? Was it constant sports and competition of those 7 kids? Who was the most competitive?
BEN JOHNS: Yeah, I grew up as 1 of 7 kids, but also 1 of the 2 boys as we have 5 sisters so it was primarily just sports with this guy. Pickleball is the only thing that I ever won. So, I’m really just taking my sweet time with it! He is 6 years older and it was very competitive. So when you have someone that much older than you, you just get used to losing at everything! But it was a great upbringing and I wouldn’t do it over in any other way. I was very grateful and it all led me here!
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | Life Time
Read the MAY ISSUE #101 of Athleisure Mag and see PICKLEBALL POWER in mag.
PHOTO COURTESY | Rich Storry/The World’s Strongest Man 2024
On May 1st - May 5th, the 2024 SBD World’s Strongest Man took place in Myrtle Beach, SC. This competition took place with full stadium seating for attendees to enjoy all of the action that takes place during the competition. This event started back in 1977 and showcases athletes illustrating their commitment and epic feats of strength. Attendees also enjoyed Fan Fest where those without tickets to sit in the stadium area could enjoy food and retail vendors from the Myrtle Beach area as well as activations from official sponsors. They can watch the action via the jumbotron in the picnic area which allowed those in the community to enjoy and be part of it all for free.
We wanted to get some background on this event and chatted with Lindsey Landrum of sports management firm, IMG so that we can understand the history as well as what took place over the days of compeition. We also wanted to share information on some of the athletes that participated as well as they have their own stories, reasons for competing, and lead interesting lives in addition to competing! You’ll find interviews with: Rob Kearney, Eddie Williams, and The World’s Strongest Brothers, Luke and Tom Stoltman (he won this year’s WSM).
If you didn’t attend the event, you can see all the action this July on CBS Sports Network and CBS. Television coverage of the 2024 championship will be broadcast worldwide to more than 70 different countries and territories, totaling close to 500 million households. In the U.S., 2024 SBD World’s Strongest Man coverage will premiere on CBS Sports Network and CBS beginning this summer. Check local listings for the most updated information.
ATHLEISURE MAG: The World's Strongest Man launched in 1977, can you tell us about the ethos of this competition and what it is focused on?
LINDSEY LANDRUM: The World's Strongest Man is the world’s preeminent strongman competition, held annually since 1977. The competition sees the sport’s most dominant strength athletes compete for the title, from pulling trucks and buses, lifting and pressing logs, carrying 1,000 pounds on their shoulders and more - every event is designed to push the Strongmen to their absolute limits, challenging not only their physical strength, but their agility and mental toughness as well.
PHOTO COURTESY | Rich Storry/The World’s Strongest Man 2024
AM: How do athletes qualify to be able to compete?
LL: Athletes qualified for the competition through several different ways. There is the official qualifying series, Giants Live, which takes place across the UK & the US. While there are others that are nominated for the event and chosen from a selection committee.
AM: How does WSM connect to other Strongman competitions that are held in various countries?
LL: WSM connects to the global strongman events as they are all on the map from our WSM selection committee. The competition invites 30 athletes from around the world, so we look at all ranges of strength from every continent to truly find out who the strongest top 30 athletes are to compete head-to-head at World’s Strongest Man.
AM: What does the WSM winner receive?
LL: The World’s Strongest Man winner receives the prestigious title of becoming the “World’s Strongest Man”. This is the pinnacle for the sport of Strongman. They take home the title, the “Barry Frank Trophy” as well as prize money.
AM: What does WSM do throughout the year when this competition isn't taking place?
LL: The World’s Strongest Man takes place over four days of competition each year to determine the winner. While the competition is only four days, our social media platforms are extremely interactive year-round (1M followers on Instagram), CBS/CBS Sports Network is airing in the US in July/August (with re-runs happening year-round of previous years), Channel 5 is airing in the UK from Boxing Day to New Year’s Day and multiple other international broadcast partners airing the coverage around December. Athletes will continue competing at competitions globally to gain their ticket to come back to next year’s World’s Strongest Man.
AM: How does a new event within WSM get added in, as Sandbag Steeplechase was added this year?
LL: World’s Strongest Man is known for having not only some of the heaviest events in history but being one of the most creative events. It’s a competition that is typically held in an outdoor venue and we work diligently with the location to integrate as much of the city/location as we can. For instance, the sandbag steeplechase made it to incorporate sand, since we are competing in Myrtle Beach! Another example would be when WSM was in Botswana and their focus was on elephant conservation. The Stone Carry event that year had extremely heavy stones shaped to look like Elephant heads. Broadcast announcers and emcees at the event were able to help promote Botswana’s focus by discussing this while the athletes were competing.
AM: Why was Myrtle Beach selected as the site for this year's event, and is there anything that you can tell us about next year's event?
LL: World’s Strongest Man selected Myrtle Beach for the second year in a row after a wonderful partnership began in 2023 with Visit Myrtle Beach and the city of Myrtle Beach. It is a unique destination that allows families to travel in not only for the event, but also as part of a vacation and enjoy the beach and all that the city has to offer. World’s Strongest Man is a family-friendly event that no matter if you are 5 years old or 95 years old, you are impressed by someone who is able to pull a plane or able to press 400+ pounds overhead!
We don't have any news we can share quite yet on next year’s event, but details will be released soon across our social media, including dates of the 2025 event. Follow @theworldsstrongestman on Instagram, @WorldsStrongest on Twitter and @theworldsstrongestman on Facebook, TikTok @TheWorldsStrongestMan, and YouTube @theworldsstrongestman for the most updated information.
PHOTO COURTESY | Rich Storry/The World’s Strongest Man 2024
AM: When did you realize that you loved fitness and sports?
ROB KEARNEY: I started playing baseball when I was young and it was my first love in terms of sports. In High School, when I started playing football, I was introduced to the weight room and lifting weights. From there, I began taking weight training seriously and ultimately made the decision to compete in powerlifting and strongman at the age of 17.
AM: I love that in highschool you played football as well as were a cheerleader during the winter season as well. Obviously, both are very physical. What did you learn from those experiences and what it takes to optimize yourself in both sports?
RK: From both sports I learned that hard work and being a student of the sport is what helps you succeed. It's not always about being the biggest athlete, but learning the best techniques and working hard to perfect those is what will set you apart from other athletes.
AM: When did you realize that you wanted to continue your fitness and athletic journey by participating in strength competitions like the Arnold Pro Strongman World Series you won in 2019?
RK: I did my first Strongman competition in 2009 as a senior in high school. I took last place but fell in love with the nature of the sport and the culture as well. When I attended college, I joined the Powerlifting team and decided to make competitive lifting a priority for me. In 2013, I won the Amateurn National Strongman Championship to turn Pro, and in 2017 made my first appearance at Worlds Strongest Man.
AM: In that same year that you won, you got married and Arnold Schwarzenegger himself celebrated your wedding! What did that mean to you?
RK: In 2019, my husband, Joey and I decided to get married when we planned a trip to Australia for me to compete in the Arnold Australia Pro Strongman World Series. A month prior to the trip, Joey suggested we get married while in Australia, to which I excitedly obliged. I was fortunate enough to win the competition and while receiving the trophy, I told Arnold we were getting married the next day. In an amazing turn of events, Arnold invited us to a chartered Yacht Tour of the City of Melbourne, AUS and dinner that evening after the wedding. It was a surreal experience to be able to celebrate our wedding day with the most influential person in the fitness space.
AM: How do you train to be able to compete in competitions of this nature?
RK: Training to be a strongman takes a lot of time and work in order to achieve the level of strength needed to compete at the highest level in the sport. Being strong in the basic power-lifts (bench, squat, deadlift and overhead press) are the building blocks to be a successful strongman. After that, you have to get experience on the strongman implements such as logs, circus dumbbells, farmers carries, yoke walks and so much more. Building the experience on these movements can be done both in training and competitions. A typical training day will last between 2-3 hours with longer sessions sometimes over 6 hours long.
AM: What does the World's Strongest Man mean to you and why have you been competing in this since 2017?
RK: World's Strongest Man is the Super Bowl of Strongman. It is the pinnacle of our sport and being able to compete at this competition solidifies yourself as one of the 30 strongest men in the world. It is a testament to your hard work and performance throughout the Strongman competitive season. Getting invited and qualifying to this competition is not something to be taken lightly and is a privilege to receive.
AM: This year you competed, how do you qualify to be at WSM and what were the competitions that you were involved in?
RK: In 2023, I competed at the Giants Live World Deadlift Championships in Cardiff, Wales. In the full competition I tied for 3rd place. Giants Live is the official qualifying tour for Worlds Strongest Man and if you podium at a Giants Live Show, that qualifies you for the following years WSM.
AM: Tell me about the Knaack Tools of a Strongman and what did it mean to you to win this?
RK: Winning the Tools of a Strongman award was really special because it not only is an award that showcases the hard work and dedication of the winning athlete, but it is also voted on by the other competitors. To win an award that is voted on by your peers is really amazing because it shows that they see the hard work, love and dedication I have put into this sport over the past 15 years.
AM: This year is your final year competing as you are retiring, you have a number of accolades from 3X Arnold Strongman Competitor and you won the Car Walk at this year's WSM event, you've written a children's book, you overcame testicular cancer as well - what are you the most proud of?
RK: To be honest, I am proud of a lot of things, but being the First and Only Openly Gay Professional Strongman who led with love and perseverance is something I will cherish. I never shied away from showing my love to my husband, I never shied away from being my full authentic self and was met with nothing but love and acceptance from the Strongman Community. Being a fan favorite and an athlete who showed character can get you just as much as trophies is something I can hold my head high about as I leave the sport as a competitor.
AM: You and your husband opened CrossFit Iron Legacy, tell us about this gym and any other upcoming projects that you would like to share with us!
RK: My husband and I have been involved with Crossfit for years and this year in January, got the opportunity to open our own affiliate. We have been building the gym while also working other full time jobs, but it has been so amazing and rewarding. We have built an amazing community of people who are focused on living healthier, fitter lives while building friendships and having fun! Other than that, I also serve as a coach to HWPO Training, an online training platform where I run the "STRONG" Program, a fitness based strength program for all ability levels. Now that I am done competing as a strongman I am excited to lean into those other business ventures, and stay connected with Strongman both as a fan and a commentator.
PHOTO COURTESY | Rich Storry/The World’s Strongest Man 2024
AM: How did you come to Strongest Man competitions in general?
EDDIE WILLIAMS: There was a local competition that I signed up for, my friends always said how strong I was moving furniture around. So I decided to give it a go. I ended up winning the competition against guys who trained for it. So I decided to pursue the sport from then on!
AM: What a day like working with you if were to train alongside you?
EW: I normally work all day doing security and then train for 3 hours afterwards. Training looks like, warming up, working up to my heavy sets on the program, event training and then heading home to my family.
AM: You are a 2X Australia's Strongest Man winner and a Southern Hemisphere Strongman Champion, tell us about competing at World's Strongest Man this year!
EW: It’s always the best experience competing at Worlds Strongest Man. I train hard to be able to compete at this level so it’s an honour to be considered one of the strongest men in the world.
AM: What were your favorite competitions that you were in this weekend?
EW: The Webster stone walk was what I was looking forward to most. I love grip events, and I was able to set a World record for walking with the stones the furthest. The yoke is also one of my favourite events. I was really looking forward to the events that I’m normally weaker at. I’ve done a lot of work the last 12 months and I think I was able to prove to everyone that I’m improving and becoming a well rounded, consistent athlete.
AM: In addition to you showcasing your strength, you're also known for singing as you were a finalist on Australia's Got Talent and you appeared on America's Got Talent! When did you realize that you like to sing?
EW: When I was about 15 years old, in high school I realised my love for singing. I grew up in a very musical family so music has always been such a big part of my life.
AM: Are there any upcoming projects that you would like to share that we should keep an eye out for?
EW: Hoping to compete in a few more competitions this year. Other than that just focusing on work and spending time with my family.
PHOTO COURTESY | Rich/StorryThe World’s Strongest Man 2024
LUKE STOLTMAN
AM: What draws you to Strongest Man competitions?
LS: I was always interested in strength training from a young age. My grandad on my father’s side was a really strong hard working man. There's an old photo of him carrying a log on his shoulder that was a real inspiration for me. My training went from bodybuilding concentrated to strongman later in my 20s when someone suggested I try it, it was instant love, the variety of it and unpredictability and moving these massive implements felt really cool.
AM: You and your brother compete in these competitions and you're known as the World’s Strongest Brothers. You have looked after him as a promise to your mother who passed away from cancer. What does it mean to you to watch him compete and to be able to have this shared experience??
LS: Tom is a phenomenon. I knew that early on from taking him to the gym - everything just seemed easy for him. I knew his potential early on and so did Mum. Whe was his biggest supporter through everything he did. There is nothing that makes me more proud and happier than seeing Tom at the top of the world and being discussed as one of the best to ever do the sport, to overcome what he has done in his life, to be here now is the stuff of Hollywood films and to be there alongside him competing in the same competitions makes it even more special. I may not have as many years left in the sport as him, but right now I'm savoring every moment we have. We are a formidable force together, and we use each other's energy in competitions and training to drive us to achieve as much as we can.
AM: You are a 2X Europe's Strongest Man in 2021 and again of April this year, what did it mean to you to win those titles?
LS: Like Tom getting his title back, it was special for me to know I could still mix it in the big competitions. I had also made a number of changes to my training, employed a new coach, worked to maximize recovery and we worked with a sports psychologist who had a huge impact on myself and Tom this year.
AM: How do you train to optimize yourself in these competitions?
LS: A lot is experience, having the right team around us, and consistently following the plans we make. It’s a real team effort. People might be surprised what it all takes. For example, we work with strength coaches, nutritionist, performance psychologist, clinical psychologist, physiologist, sports massage, chiropractor, on top of this we place a huge emphasis on recovery, which includes hot and cold water contrast therapy, hyperbaric chamber, sauna, infrared therapy, maximizing sleep environment, massage, mobility, the list goes on!
AM: For the World's Strongest Man competition this year, what are your favorite parts of the competition?
LS: I get a real buzz from being in this competition in particular. It’s the comp everyone wants to win and the most prestigious. I've been lucky to compete in nearly 10 WSM competitions, and hopefully a few more to come!
AM: You just welcomed a son, what are the firsts that you are looking forward to with him?
LS: Hard to describe the emotions and joy Koa has brought. He is a constant source of energy for me and really drives me on to succeed in competition, business and life. I hope to still compete when he is at an age to remember, and just hope I can make him proud.
AM: Are there any upcoming projects that you would like to share that we should keep an eye out for?
LS: World domination! Haha! We are working hard on our business. Unfortunately, the prize money still isn’t great with the sport so we have to rely on sponsorships and we are working to build our brand. We have a clothing line, an online strength training academy, and we perform a number of talks which I particularly enjoy when covering subjects such as elite performance, overcoming adversity, mental health awareness, and our story.
PHOTO COURTESY | Rich Storry/The World’s Strongest Man 2024
TOM STOLTMAN
AM: You and your brother are very close and you're known as The World’s Strongest Brothers. What does it mean to you to be able to do what you love alongside your brother?
TS: We never thought it would be this way from when Luke took me to the gym all those years ago, and sometimes its hard to believe what we are doing for a job. It really is a dream. We are really close too which helps when you spend so much time together!
AM: What's an average day like for you in training for these competitions?
TS: We train 4-5 days a week and sessions last between 2-5hrs depending on what stage we are at. In the run up to a competition, the event specific training days are the ones that take longer (3.5-5hrs). Recovery and rest is just as important, so we will ensure we have 2 days, usually weekends, off per week. There is a lot of eating too, to maintain our weight (I'm around 185kg) but still burn so many calories in long training sessions. We need to eat a lot!
AM: What's it like competing against your brother in these competitions?
TS: It’s a real advantage, we have such a strong bond as I've said so I think it can be intimidating for the other competitors to see us together supporting each other between events. It's also really special to be able to do it together, so we try to savor every moment and make the most of it as we never know when our last comp together might be.
AM: What are your favorite events within the World Strongest Man competitions?
TS: All of them! My speciality is the atlas stones, but I don’t like to have favorites as the goal is to have no weaknesses and to embrace whatever events come up.
AM: You are now a 3X World Strongest Man with your win this weekend, you were the first Scottish winner in history with WSM, you're the first athlete with autism to win WSM, and in 2019 you and your brother were the first brothers to qualify for the WSM Final - what does it mean to you to have so many historic moments in this sport?
TS: It's an honor for sure but I try not to reflect on it too much at this stage in my career as I just keep focusing on what's next. I’m proud to be Scottish and win the title, but also where we are from in Scotland, we are from the Highlands, a very remote area, that makes me even more proud and to help show what can be achieved with limited resources and that’s the same with autism. I want people to see that you can achieve great things if you set your mind to it. I also hope to use the platform to educate people on it. There can be a stigma around it and people can call it a disability, and in general not understand it. But in truth, there can be positives about living with autism, and I want to inspire people to see that you can achieve great things. I called it my superpower after winning my first WSM title. At that point, I was no longer the autistic kid that was being held back. I had channeled it to help me focus on achieving my goal of becoming the world's strongest man.
AM: What do you enjoy about competing in WSM?
TS: Winning it! Haha! It’s a historic competition and such a prestigious title. We as a family would always watch it on TV at Christmas time so it's extra special to think back on those times and to be actually competing in the competition now, doing well and hopefully making my family proud too.
AM: How do you relax after coming off of a weekend like this?
TS: It's hard, it's such a buzz, but my team we work with and my family help keep me grounded. I like a quiet life outside the sport - spend time with my wife, walk the dogs and watch football really. That’s one good part of living in the Highlands of Scotland. It's nice and quiet, and beautiful scenery for walks.
AM: Are there any upcoming projects that we should keep an eye out for?
TS: Very early stages but we are talking to a well known LA film producer about the possibility of doing a film on our life story. That would be pretty exciting if it comes off, although they might struggle to find actors as big as me and Luke!
Read the latest issue of Athleisure Mag.
Today, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) announced the 45th Annual Sports Emmy® Awards nominations as well as revealing the Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, sports broadcaster James Brown. The ceremony will take place on Tuesday, May 21, at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall, Broadway at 60th Street, New York City.
“This year’s sports broadcasting nominees produced thrilling and captivating television,” said Adam Sharp, President & CEO, NATAS. “We look forward to welcoming these exceptional professionals to the 45th Annual Sports Emmy Awards in May.”
“The Sports Emmy Awards are proud to recognize the outstanding work of this year’s nominees and to honor James Brown for his long and prolific career,” added Stephen Head, Head of Sports.
As we do throughout Awards Season, we share our predictions in bold, the ones we correctly identified as winners are in bold italics and winners that we didn’t predict are in italics. On the night of the event, we will share who we predicted correctly as well as those we didn’t that won.
The Masters
CBS
The 105th PGA Championship
CBS
Super Bowl LVIII
Kansas City Chiefs vs. San Francisco 49ers
CBS
Super Bowl LVIII
Kansas City Chiefs vs. San Francisco 49ers
Nickelodeon
[Nickelodeon Productions | CBS Sports | NFL Films]
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FOX
FOX CFB
FOX | FS1
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Monday Night Football
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[Omaha Productions]
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tbs
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[NFL Films]
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[NFL Films]
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Chasing Greatness: Coach K x LeBron
TNT
Crown
CBS Sports Network
E60
The Crossover: 50 Years of Hip Hop and Sports
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[ESPN Films]
GR8TNESS
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[NFL Films]
E60
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Kickin’ It
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The Shop UNINTERRUPTED
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[UNINTERRUPTED]
BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023
BLAST.tv
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2023 Call of Duty League Championship Weekend
New York Subliners vs. Toronto Ultra
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Intel Extreme Masters Cologne 2023 Grand Finals
ENCE vs. G2
Twitch | YouTube
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League of Legends Worlds 2023 Final
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LoLEsports.com | Twitch | YouTube
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VALORANT Champions 2023 Grand Final
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Dreamcaster
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Extraordinary Stories
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Nothing Else Matters
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Full Circle
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Kelce
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The Saint of Second Chances
Netflix
[Tremolo | Stampede Ventures]
Stand
Showtime
[SHOWTIME Sports Documentary Films | MSM]
Catching Lightning
Showtime
[Bat Bridge Entertainment]
Goliath
Showtime
[Village Roadshow Television | Religion of Sports]
Super League: The War for Football
Apple TV+
[Words + Pictures | All Rise Films]
Untold
Netflix
[Propagate | Stardust Frames | RAW | The Players’ Tribune]
Football Must Go On
Paramount+
Formula 1: Drive to Survive
Netflix
[Box to Box Films]
Hard Knocks
Training Camp With The New York Jets
HBO | Max
[NFL Films]
Monster Factory
Apple TV+
[Vox Media Studios | Public Record]
Quarterback
Netflix
[NFL Films | Omaha Productions | 2PM Productions]
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Pardon The Interruption
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[Rydholm Projects, Inc.]
SportsCenter
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College Football Playoff
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Inside the NBA Playoffs on TNT
TNT
Postseason NFL Countdown
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Road to the Final Four
CBS | TNT
CNN FlashDocs
Blindsided
CNN
E60
Peace of Mind: Psychedelics in Sports
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E60
The Perfect Machine
ESPN
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A Blind Eye: Switzerland and the Corruption of World Sport
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Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel
Call of Duty: How War is Destroying Ukrainian Sport
HBO | Max
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The Legacy of Tyler Trent
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[Amazon MGM Studios]
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Playing Fields
Ornella: Knocking Down Social Prejudices Pursuing Her Olympic Dream
Olympic Channel
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel
No Surrender: One Man’s Battle with ALS
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SC Featured: Dear Mrs. Reid
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SportsCenter
SC Featured: Running for Martin
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Unredeemable
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Timeless
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If This Wall Could Talk
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Heidi
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My Way
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College Football Playoff MegaCast
Rose Bowl Game
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Fan Controlled Racing Watch Party
Twitch | Kick
[Fan Controlled Sports & Entertainment]
The Magic and Mastery of US Open Champion – Carlos Alcaraz
ESPN.com
NCAA March Madness Live
March Madness Live
Thursday Night Football
Black Friday Football Studio
Prime Video
[Amazon MGM Studios]
Thursday Night Football
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Big City Greens Classic
Fully Animated Live Sporting Event With Integrated Real-Time Animated Talent
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[Beyond Sports | Silver Spoon Animation | Disney Television Animation]
Dreamcaster
MSG Network | MSG+
[Weber Shandwick | Helo]
MLB Next
AR App
MLB
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Cross-Platform Storytelling with Broadcast, Web Widgets and AR App.
Red Bull TV
[Red Bull Media House | ProteGear | TeraVolt | Girraphic]
Thursday Night Football
Machine Learning on Prime Vision
Prime Video
[Amazon MGM Studios]
Malika Andrews
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ESPN
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TNT | tbs
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ABC
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ESPN | ABC
Ian Eagle
CBS | TNT | tbs
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tbs | CBS | TNT | truTV
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NBC | Peacock
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TNT
Nate Burleson
CBS
Ryan Clark
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Mina Kimes
ESPN | ESPN2 | ABC
Troy Aikman
ESPN | ABC
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NBC | Peacock
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FOX
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CBS | TNT
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FOX | FS1
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FOX | FS1 | MLB Network
Erin Andrews
FOX
Kaylee Hartung
Prime Video | NBC | Peacock
Tom Rinaldi
FOX | FS1
Holly Rowe
ESPN | ESPN2 | ABC
Tracy Wolfson
CBS | TNT
Mookie Betts
Bleacher Report | tbs | FOX
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NBC | Peacock
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FOX | FS1
Taylor Rooks
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Jay Wright
CBS | CBS Sports Network | TNT
The Masters
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NASCAR on NBC
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NBC
Super Bowl LVIII
CBS
Thursday Night Football
Prime Video
[Amazon MGM Studios]
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FOX | FS1
FOX NFL
Stage A
FOX
NFL Draft
ESPN | ABC
The NFL Today
Super Bowl LVIII
CBS
Thursday Night Football
Prime Video
[Amazon MGM Studios]
The 155th Belmont Stakes
31 Lengths: Secretariat
FOX
NFL 360
Heroes
NFL Network
NFL Films Presents
Optex Lens
FS1
[NFL Films]
The NFL Today: Super Bowl LVIII
Just Win Baby!
CBS
Super Bowl LVIII
My Way
CBS
E60
Sacred Dog
ESPN
Freeride Skiing
Descendance
YouTube
[Legs of Steel]
Hard Knocks
Training Camp With The New York Jets
HBO | Max
[NFL Films]
Unredeemable
Golf Channel
Vamos Vegas
YouTube
The 149th Kentucky Derby
Timeless
NBC | Peacock
NFL 360
The Chief Who Walked The Sea
NFL Network
NFL 360
Heroes
NFL Network
NHL on TNT
Show and Tell
TNT
Super Bowl LVIII
My Way
CBS
Freeride Skiing
Descendance
YouTube
[Legs of Steel]
Hard Knocks
Training Camp With The New York Jets
HBO | Max
[NFL Films]
Kelce
Prime Video
[Amazon MGM Studios | Skydance | Vera Y Productions | 9.14 Pictures]
Under Pressure: The U.S. Women’s World Cup Team
Netflix
[Words + Pictures | FIFA | Time Studios]
Unredeemable
Golf Channel
FOX CFB: Big Noon Kickoff
J.J. McCarthy “47”
FOX
NFL 360
The Chief Who Walked The Sea
NFL Network
NFL 360
Still Here
NFL Network
The NFL Today
Kyle Brandt Series
CBS
Sunday Night Football
NBC | Peacock
All Access
Showtime
Chasing Gold
Farebersviller
NBC
E60
The Crossover: 50 Years of Hip Hop and Sports
ESPN
[ESPN Films]
Hard Knocks
Training Camp With The New York Jets
HBO | Max
[NFL Films]
The World According to Football
Showtime
[SHOWTIME Sports Documentary Films | Religion of Sports |
Day Zero Productions | Mainstay Entertainment]
E60
The Crossover: 50 Years of Hip Hop and Sports
ESPN
[ESPN Films]
E60
Sacred Dog
ESPN | ESPN+
[Showtime Singers]
The Golden Boy
HBO | Max
[Unrealistic Ideas | ViaMar Productions]
NBA on TNT
50 Years of Hip Hop
TNT
Super Bowl LVIII
My Way
CBS
FOX MLB
FOX | FS1
FOX NASCAR
FOX | FS1
Little League World Series
ESPN | ESPN2 | ABC
NASCAR on NBC
NBC | USA
Sunday Night Baseball
ESPN | ESPN2
Sunday Night Football
NBC | Peacock
Super Bowl LVIII
CBS
Formula 1: Drive to Survive
Netflix
[Box to Box Films | Netflix]
FOX NASCAR: RACE HUB
The Championship: Radioactive
FS1
[NASCAR Studios]
2023 IRONMAN World Championship
Outside TV
[The IRONMAN Group Productions]
McGregor Forever
Netflix
[Religion of Sports]
NFL 360
Heroes
NFL Network
Quarterback
Netflix
[NFL Films | Omaha Productions | 2PM Productions]
Vamos Vegas
YouTube
[TORQ]
FOX NFL
FOX
Monday Night Football
ESPN | ESPN2 | ESPN+ | ABC
[Elastic Creative]
NBA Finals
ESPN | ABC
[Two Fresh Creative | Panoply]
Super Bowl LVIII
CBS
Toy Story Funday Football
DISNEY+ | ESPN+
[BIG Studios | Beyond Sports | Silver Spoon Animation | PIXAR]
MLB Network Showcase
This Is What I Live For
MLB Network
[Perception]
NFL 360
The Chief Who Walked The Sea
NFL Network
Super League: The War for Football
Apple TV+
[Words + Pictures | All Rise Films]
Thursday Night Football
TNF Show Open / Black Friday Football: Robert Randolph
Prime Video
[Amazon MGM Studios]
Toy Story Funday Football
Duke Caboom Daredevil Spectacular
DISNEY+ | ESPN+
The 155th Belmont Stakes
31 Lengths: Secretariat
FOX
FOX NFL
Stage A
FOX
Super Bowl LVIII
My Way
CBS
Thursday Night Football
Black Friday Football Tradition Tease; TNF Show
Prime Video
[Amazon MGM Studios]
Toy Story Funday Football
DISNEY+ | ESPN+
[BIG Studios | Beyond Sports | Silver Spoon Animation | PIXAR]
The Masters
TFC Compound Connect
CBS
2023 MLB Home Run Derby
StatCast Edition: Live Virtual 3D Event Coverage
ESPN2
Monday Night Football with Peyton & Eli
Peyton Manning’s AR Table
ESPN2
[Omaha Productions]
Thursday Night Football
TNF Table Talk
Prime Video
[Amazon MGM Studios | Girraphic]
Toy Story Funday Football
DragonFly Tech
DISNEY+ | ESPN+
[NFL | Next Gen Stats | Beyond Sports | Hawk-Eye]
FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023
USA vs The World
FOX
The Golden Boy
Who Am I?
HBO | Max
[Zealot UK]
2023 NBA Finals
We Are All in the Finals
NBA Social
Stanley Cup
First Kiss
NHL Network
Top Rank Boxing on ESPN
Battle of the Baddest | Rumble
ESPN | ESPN+
[Park Pictures]
FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023
Common Goal
FOX | FS1
Hometown Hopefuls
NBC | NBCSports.com
NFL on CBS
Football for Everyone
CBS | CBS Sports Network
Notre Dame Football
What Would You Fight For?
NBC
Youth Flag Football
Let’s Play
NFL Network
Ahora o Nunca
ESPN Deportes
2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup
Telemundo
Fuera de Juego
ESPN+
Futbol Central
Verano de Campeones
Univision | TUDN
Republica Deportiva
Univision | TUDN
Sunday Night Football
Telemundo
Balon de Oro de la Liga MX
Tigres – Powerchair
Univision | TUDN
E60
Mayra
ESPN | ESPN+
Mundo NFL Originals
El Sueño de Cieneguitas
Mundo NFL
[Sway | Mundo NFL]
SportsCenter
In Her Shoes: Wang Shuang
ESPN Deportes
SportsCenter
SC Reportajes: Do Bronx – Charles Oliveira
ESPN Deportes
Alejandro Berry
Univision | TUDN
Andrés Cantor
Telemundo
Carolina Guillén
ESPN Deportes
Miguel Gurwitz
Telemundo
Rebeca Landa
ESPN Deportes
Valeria Marin
Univision | TUDN
PHOTO CREDIT | The New York Times
You know what time of year it is, we’re all focused on March Madness which allows us to increase our ability to showcase our depth of knowledge in Bracketology, “the activity of predicting the participating teams in a tournament, typically the NCAA. basketball tournament.” With Selection Sunday, March 17th around the corner, we’re all thinking about who is going to the big dance and who we’re adding into the Big Bracket. The New York Times is launching a Bracketologist Sweatsuit Set for college basketball-watching enthusiasts this Friday, March 8th.
This set will exclusively be sold on The New York Times Store and is the first drop from their “Words” Capsule Collection. This will be an evolving product collection that decodes modern language through journalism. This collection will include the Bracketologist Sweatpant ($80) and Bracketologist Crewneck Sweatshirt ($70), the perfect ensemble to wear when you’re out and about or gathering with friends to get your brackets in order!
Read the latest issue of Athleisure Mag.
When we watch our favorite performances, there are so many people involved that make these shows come together. The Music Director has a birds eye view and is integral in making sure the components come together, keeping all the teams in lockstep with one another and being able to translate the artist's vision to what we see.
When you have a MD that is also musician and can play across genres, you really have someone that is multi-talented! We caught up with Adam Blackstone a bassist who has performed with Jay-Z, Dave Chapelle's Block Party, Justin Timberlake, Janet Jackson and so much more. He has also been the MD for a number of the entertainers above including Nicki Minaj and Rihanna - sometimes playing with these artists and more. In addition, this man has been the MD behind the historic Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show featuring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, Mary J. Blige and Eminem and will be back again when for the Apple Music Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show with Rihanna hits the stage for this moment of sports meets music. In this position, he has helmed the OSCARS, NBA All Star Weekend, The Masked Singer and more.
In addiiton to being in the industry for decades with a coveted list of talent that he has worked with, he just released his debut album Legacy last fall and his single 'Round Midnight’ with Jazmin Sullivan has been nominated for a GRAMMY which takes place next month! To ensure that he can continue to grow his brand and fingerprint on the industry, he also talks about how he supplies an array of talent from musicians, engineers and background singers to our favorite artists through BASSic Black Entertainment.
With some busy days ahead, we wanted to find out about how he found his way into the music industry, his love for bass, being a musician as well as a MD and what he has coming up.
ATHLEISURE MAG: What was the moment when you fell in love with music?
ADAM BLACKSTONE: That’s a great question! I think from birth! With my family, I was always surrounded by music, my father is a musician. What we would call today, probably a wedding band singer, but he did weddings, bat mitzvahs, church services, banquets, and all of that. Then, growing up in Black church, my mom and my family was heavy into choir and music ministry. I think that early early African American church experience allowed me to see the power that the music played in the emotional and psyche of human beings in general. Fast forward to me going to high school and getting some jazz band awards and all of the accolades and the praise and being a little bit turned on by that as well. It made me want to excel and to show Black excellence. Of course, fast forward to really my first major major gig was Jay-Z on stage at Madison Square Garden. There was nothing like that feeling! So those 3 instances for me were very much spread out, but were very much so similar feelings you know?
AM: Yes. What drew you to wanting to play bass?
AB: Funny story, I started as a drummer. I think every little Black boy in church as a musician wants to play drums. When we moved to a suburb in town - Willingboro, NJ, again, the band teacher who was white, I’ll never forget when he said, “listen, I have 14 drummers. I heard about your family, I hear about your musical lineage that you have and our band is missing a bass player.” This was in 2nd grade and he said, “I would love if you would switch over.” I said, “hell naw, I’m not doing that bro!” This was back in the day when you had to walk to school and all of that and I wanted to walk with my drum sticks – I didn’t want to walk with a bass! He talked to my parents and we made the switch and honestly, it was one of the best decisions that I had ever made of course!
So that is what introduced me to bass and that instrument in general allows me to be the foundation and the root of all of the chords that are being played. I learned that a little later on. Drums is the rhythm, but bass is really the melody and it controls the chordal structure. Me being the future MD that I was, I think that I like a little bit of the control!
AM: I like how one decision really made all the difference!
You have worked with so many people from Rihanna, The Roots, Justin Timberlake, Maroon 5, Jay-Z and even across genres.
AB: Yes!
AM: How do you approach when you’re working on these projects as they all have different needs and different focuses in terms of when you’re coming in as the musician role.
AB: I think that the biggest thing is that they allow me to be able to be myself, to be creative, allow me to present them with ideas, but also knowing that I am protecting them. They know that I am taking their vision and just trying to enhance it a little bit. As musical director and crossing genres specifically, it’s not about my vision, it’s about the artists’ vision. We’re all a team. If they win, we win. If they’re hot on stage, if their tour is hot, it allows for more opportunities for me as well! So, I always pride myself on asking the artists what they need, what they want and how I can be a vessel to enhance that vision across genres, that respect is given and so they allow me to, you know, continue to be as successful as I am.
AM: Tell me about your debut album Legacy which came out last fall!
AB: Yessss Legacy, Legacy! It was a labor of love for sure! We all went through that pandemic, and you know, we lost some folks. I lost a couple of good friends of mine, I lost a cousin and going through to their services, I realized that I didn't want to leave this Earth with a laptop full of ideas – you know what I’m saying? I heard Jazzy Jeff say, “leave here empty.” So, I was really inspired by loss and I buckled down for about 40 - 45 days and returned to my roots and one of my first loves is jazz and really progressive jazz. I decided what songs I wanted to do and really saw which artists were being impacted by me for a long time and how they wanted to pay it back to me by hopping on my album. Everybody from Kirk Franklin to Mary Mary to Jazmine Sullivan to Jill Scott to Queen Latifah. The list goes on and on! I made that one phone call and they said, “absolutely, whatever you need,” because they know for the last 20 years, I have answered their phone calls and said the same thing. You know what I mean? It’s what I like to call, Relationship Equity! It’s been really cool. We went Billboard #1 on Legacy, the single got a GRAMMY nomination, we are Image Award nominee now for 2023 and going on tour opening for Jill Scott this spring. I’m very excited about that that Legacy continues to hopefully impact people and to become part of their legacy as well. I really did it to inspire.
AM: That is amazing and I really love when you are talking about Relationship Equity, as I have definitely dipped into that pool many times and let them know that for the times I reached back, I needed it for what I was working on.
AB: Even with that, to the right person, you don’t even have to say that because they know what you’ve done and the value that you have added to their legacy, you know what I’m saying? I’m very grateful for God giving me the foresight 20 years ago, didn’t know I would be here doing a record. I was nice to people, I was a good character person, I had integrity and so now when I make these calls, it’s been no issues. I’m super thankful for that!
AM: So are you thinking about your next album?
AB: Legacy 2, I’m definitely thinking about it for sure!
AM: In addition to being an artist and a musician, you’re a noted Music Director. Can you tell us what a Music Director does?
AB: No problem. As an MD, my job is to curate everything live music oriented from stage, to lighting, to choreography, to programming – basically build that live experience for the viewer. So it starts by me sitting with the artist and seeing what story that they want to tell through their set list. Sometimes we have 2 hours and then for things like the Super Bowl, we have 13 minutes, you know what I mean? From there, I do a lot of hiring of the band, backgrounds, engineers and then I rehearse the band and then it’s everything from me going to choreo rehearsal, lighting rehearsal to make sure that their cues line up with the music cues. So that gives that total overall experience and that’s essentially what a music director does from arranging, to scoring to creative on the stage.
AM: When you’re doing that, is it hard for you to wear two hats when you’re actually playing as well as being the Music Director?
AB: That’s a great question. I have to be honest and say, that it’s easier for me to be able to do the two hats because I speak through my instrument. That allows me to have a little bit more of a fluent language if we use that analogy, because I can get the ideas out while playing. Sometimes, if I’m just coming in to oversee and there is another band like Maroon 5 or something like that - when I do Tim McGraw, he has his own band, it’s like I have to adapt to their language. Either way it’s cool, but I have to say that the two hats actually because of my musicianship and I’m thankful for that, it lets the MD job be a little easier for me!
AM: It’s amazing to think about the fact that you were saying that whether someone is going on a tour, last year’s halftime show for the Super Bowl and you were also involved with The Masked Singer as well which is a TV show. That’s a lot of hats to juggle, so how do you say, ok if this is a tour – it’s this way and a TV show is another way and then when you’re doing the halftime show which was ridiculous –
AB: Thank you so much!
AM: We just watched the documentary, The Show: California Love, so being able to see the behind-the-scenes as someone who is a fashion stylist and the Co-Founder and Creative Director of Athleisure Mag, I have such an appreciation for how all of those things come together and it’s nice to see how that all took place.
AB: I think that the biggest difference is trusting myself and trusting the process. When it comes to the creative, I started as a touring guy so a lot of times, the touring aspect comes a little easier to me and I’m a fan of music. So I know what the viewer wants to see/hear. When it comes to the television show whether it’s The Masked Singer, The Four, BET Awards, The Voice – things like that, we’re making television so how do we want to sustain people’s interest by watching the show? How we do that is by making very impactful moments happen in a very short period of time. That’s different then the tour, because you want to elongate the moment so that you can stretch out people’s attention span – you get what I’m saying? It’s a different hat to wear, but at the end of the day, it’s about entertainment and I am happy to be a true entertainer in the sense of the musicianship of it.
AM: This year, you’re going to be back at it again with Rihanna’s halftime show for the Super Bowl. What can you tell us about this show and anything that you can share as we’re all so excited!
AB: No doubt, I’m excited to be a Co-Musical Director this year with my partner, Omar Edwards. He’s another Philly guy and we are going to set the world ablaze! Riri has had the superpower of all her career of being Anti, no pun intended! So, what that allows us to do is for us to think completely outside of the box. I can’t give you too many more details to be completely honest, but I will say that it’s going to be a whirlwind experience for that 13 mins for sure. I think that the people will love it for sure. I always like to call it the Super Bowl catalog of songs so I promise you that you will hear your favorites!
AM: Tell us about BASSic Black Entertainment and what it offers to those in the music industry.
AB: Absolutely, BBE we call it for short, BASSic Black Entertainment was founded by myself and my beautiful wife, Kaisha Blackstone. At a point in 2008/2009/2010, my stock as MD was rising and I was not able to be in multiple places at one time! So, the artists trusted me and said, “hey, even though you can’t be there. Can you set it up for me, hire the personnel?” I said of course and knowing that these people shared the same core values as me musically and personally, character and integrity as well – at one point, I had over 250 musicians, singers and engineers collectively out on the road with different tours. My wife said, “ok guy, hold on. Let’s figure this out.” How can we not just monetize because it wasn’t about that, it was about creating a structure for these people. I kind of was like calling them up, doing the music and then throwing them out with the wolves per se in my earlier career. But once we set up BASSic Black Entertainment, there is a structure, there are tour managers, there are rates in place and everything that allows people to be able to come to work and maximize their jobs for the potential to be a musician and to not have to worry that anybody will take advantage of them. They also know that the BBE brand is represented as well so it’s all with excellence.
Right now, we are a music staffing agency, we have now branched into the record label industry business as well with BBE Records and we will continue to not only put out music, and new artists, but also support tours. Right now, I have a BBE band out with Jeezy, a BBE band out with SZA, a BBE band out with Ari Lennox, we’re doing great! For myself, I’m opening this spring for Jill Scott, so that is going to be a great experience as well.
AM: I mean, you have so many plates that are spinning, all those projects, prepping for your spring tour, going to the GRAMMYs next month!
AB: Yesssss!
AM: Congratulations on that! You have the halftime show coming up – how do you take a moment for yourself in terms of self-care and making sure that you can kind of refill your cup or at least partially?
AB: I’m about to give you some exclusiveness! I like to just disappear from rehearsal for 3 days and to see my kids! Family first over everything to me! If I have their blessing to go out and be great, that allows me to remain creative and to operate in my most maximum genius. If the home structure is not cool, I’m coming home – you know what I’m saying? Even if home is cool and my stomach is not cool, or me missing my family and my wife is not cool, I’m coming home so that is how I replenish myself. I kiss my babies – I love on my family. I bring them out with me when I can. They support me in all I do, it’s been a sacrifice. It’s a sacrifice not only for me, but my wife as well. I’m just so thankful that I have a strong woman like that to hold the fort down, be at the crib – she knows that I’m out here building a legacy for our children. Hopefully, for her to be proud of as well. That’s how I replenish myself by filling myself up with love from my family.
AM: Once again, it was so much fun to research you for this piece as there were things that we already know, but it was a treasure trove of so many things like being the MD for All Star Basketball Weekend and the Oscars, you got an Emmy for last year’s halftime show for Oustanding Music Direction – you have done so much, you have worked with so many artists and now you have your own album, what do you want your legacy to be?
AB: My legacy should be that Adam Blackstone was a core value person, giving, selfless, loving and also did good music and made people laugh, made them dance through the melody. If that can be my legacy, that would be more then I could ever ask for. If my music is it then that is a plus, I promise you! I’ve been so thankful to see the impact that it has had through the accolades. The Emmy award was so so great, but I was hired to do a job, right. I was always going to do the best that I could do. I’m alsoways going to be the best me that I can be and an Emmy just validated that someone else thought that it was a good job as well. This GRAMMY nomination hit differently for me, because it’s an idea in my head – the music, it’s an idea in my gut, it’s an idea in my soul and it’s an idea in my heart. So, to see how that one idea can come to fruition and other people then latch on to that idea which was created by yourself, it just meant a whole different aspect for me with that. So the music thing has been such a great tool to show me the power of music, you know what I mean? I’m super excited for what’s to come and super thankful for that!
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | Adam Blackstone
Read the JAN ISSUE #85 of Athleisure Mag and see A LEGACY MANIFESTED | Adam Blackstone in mag.
Growing up in the 90s, when you thought of Beach Volleyball, you thought about Gabby Reece! Whether it was seeing her in a number of commercials, gracing covers of Elle, Women's Sports & Fitness, appearing in Arliss (which in many respects laid the groundwork for future HBO shows such as Entourage and Ballers), interviewing athletes, modeling and so much more. Gabby really made her presence know whether she was on the sand or off.
We enjoyed catching up with Gabby to talk about her career, how she got into playing volleyball and how she used her creativity and natural curiosity to continue to add an array of work to her portfolio is amazing. In addition, we talk about how she is an advocate for fitness, wellness and nutrition and why this is something that she is so passionate about. We also find out about other projects she has going on such as The Gabby Reece Podcast and her entrepreneurial projects with her husband, big wave surfer, Laird Hamilton.
ATHLEISURE MAG: When did you realize that you wanted to play beach volleyball?
GABBY REECE: Well I moved from the Caribbean my junior year of high school to Florida and I was 15 and I was 6’3” and I had dabbled a little bit. But because athletics was so organized in the US, it was sort of like they said that I had to play. I was really a beginner and kind of like a neophyte at it and like I said, I had just kind of dabbled. Then I started getting offers my senior year which is pretty late for college which was a surprise to me for basketball and for volleyball. So it really was something that I fell into. I think that being part of something was really powerful for me. I think that my nature is that I like to work hard. I think that if you had said to me at the end of my junior year that I would be going and playing college volleyball, I would not have known that! Quite frankly, the same with professional volleyball. When I was in college, I had not participated in beach volleyball. It was only because I had moved to Miami after college and I picked up the game and someone said after about a year and a half, that I should move to California. I’d say that I did that a lot in that realm.
AM: We’ve been fans of yours watching you during your iconic career, you made your presence known from being Nike’s first female spokesperson, the first female athlete to ever have designed a shoe for Nike and their first ever female cross training spokesperson. What do you feel are your biggest achievements in the sport?
GR: You know, I have to be honest, I feel that just being able to participate in anything at a high level with other people that are doing it! I mean, I won a World Championship, but there were some other things and I think that for me personally, it was being able to play at that level and being around that caliber of athletes and coaches. Because I always say that volleyball in a different way kind of saved my life a bit. It sort of directed me in this area that I remained in for my adult life. So I think that for me, it was a very deep relationship! Plus, I feel like volleyball, like any other sport, it’s very honest and I always felt like I had respected myself after practice if you will, if that makes sense. Because you can’t bs it. If I was modeling, they could give you really good hair and makeup or you could be like whatever and tuck in this and this – wear something tight there. But I think that there was something that was really honest about it which I know that this sounds weird, but then it also makes being imperfect and vulnerable easier because you’re like, “oh yeah, I know what it’s like to fall on my face in front of a lot of people.” So it almost gives you the strength to be like – yeah I know how to suck and I know how to fail and it’s ok, you’ll be able to survive it.
AM: I like the way that you put that. You’ve navigated the sport and have also added in these other elements of yourself whether it’s being an author, modeling, acting and hosting. Why is it important to you to be able to utilize these skills in your creative pursuits?
GR: Well I think that you just said. I think that we’re all creative and we express ourselves differently. For me, my husband says this perfectly because Laird is a surfer and Laird is more dedicated to his sport because it’s part of his life and it’s very different. But he says, I’m Laird and one of the things that I do is surf. And I think for me, it was a creative outlet, but so were the other things! Interviewing other people and learning from them or writing books or writing columns, these were just other extensions of who I am and a creative outlet because in certain ways I combat being very linear. So, every once in awhile when I have these opportunities, to have these creative expressions, I feel like it just helps me. You get a level of satisfaction I think in life when you get to do that.
AM: Tell me about the Gabby Reece Show, why you wanted to start this podcast and what you have learned by doing it?
GR: Oh my gosh, what I have learned is that there are a lot of smart people out there! You know, I used to interview people when I started for TV in the early 90s and I liked it, but it was short and quick. You got 7 mins, you got 12 mins whatever. I like the idea of it also not being about me because I was interviewed often so it was like, oh this is cool this is about them. You’re doing your homework. I did a podcast with a gentleman named Neil Strauss, he’s an author and we’re very different. So we did that for a few years and to be honest, I didn’t have the confidence necessarily to think that I could do it myself and be interesting. I thought that I could be interesting for like 12 shows…
AM: Impossible – impossible!
GR: No, I’m being honest! I’m always in awe of people who say that they are so fun to watch. I’m like, wow you’re amazing! I think for me it was like, yeah it makes me uncomfortable, but I am curious and I do like to learn and so I do talk to a lot of different types of people – scientists and doctors and the hope was to get the very best in information – the sharp end of the stick of information and communicate it at the 6th grade level and also try to give it to people who really need it. I always say that people like myself or athletes or people that have the opportunity to have trainers or eat organic food – they already don’t need it. It’s people that are working their butts off and they are just trying to get there minute by minute – how do we condense this information for them and to get it to them in a way that it is understandable, but it’s the really good information. And it’s like, can you tweak this one thing or could you do this? So that’s my hook because if you’re very high performance, you’d say that this is very good intel, but if you’re like, “I’m too busy to deal with it,” then we sift through it for you and say maybe this is what you really want to focus on.
AM: As a mom, you’re someone who is involved in a lot of entrepreneurial endeavors, health and wellness is key to you and we’re always looking at things that we can add into our workout – what are 3 exercises that you do that we should consider including?
GR: You know, I’m sometimes the anti person in this way – I’m like, oh! I have a friend and we say 100% of the things a 100% of the time. So when we talk about cardio, stretching or lifting – I will say this, anytime that you can use more of your whole body and also work on proprioception and balance – like working out on one leg at a time is great. Like a sit up, you’re going to be very strong in a limited range of motion. But if you do a clean and jerk or a 1 arm dumbbell snap, you activate from your neck to the top of your knee. So I would say that squatting, overhead snapping and one legged type movements where you are doing one legged row or deadlift is best. I don’t want women to shy away from lifting weights.
Cardio is good for your heart, but lifting some time under tension I want to say that I really want to encourage women and if they say that they don’t want to get too big, it’s very hard to build muscle, you’re not going to get too big. Those muscles work in your favor long after you have lifted weights and they just do so many positive things for you. So I would say that and you know having some kind of mobility and integration in there. That’s the other thing, if you asked me where I really blew it. I got really tight as an athlete andI didn’t integrate enough mobility.
When you say to me to pick 3, I would say things that challenge your balance and those that are working on your whole body, but warm up because if you are doing 3 joint kind of moves versus single joint moves that are more complex and learn how to do things correctly. Let’s not go in the wrong direction every day, let’s try to move in the right direction so that we don’t get injured. Do some kind of diversity where ok you’re outside and walking, maybe take your shoes off, you’re on a bike and you’re doing something – not to do the same things over and over! I want people to support themselves and to participate in their recovery. So it’s not like, oh it’s my day off. It’s, ok it’s my day off and I am going to do some breathing or meditation practice. It’s my day off and I’m going to see if I can get myself into a sauna or do a cold plunge. So, making the recovery a dynamic process that you support yourself. It shouldn’t be just like oh I’m not doing anything. My hope is that everyone works out and they do it decently – hard at least a couple of times a week forever. So, we need to find ways to recover.
The other part is that you should be truthful to yourself. On the days that you don’t feel different than the days that I call it, bone tired. If you’re genuinely bone tired, it might be better to take the day off and that's why it's tricky too. Because if Wed is your day off, but what if you feel great on Wed and you feel like shit on Fri? I also want to encourage people to listen to want themselves. If you hate the gym, then the gym isn’t for you – so what is for you? It’s just getting them to do that because it’s the only way that we will be consistent.
And there’s also only so much time in the day! Laird and I joke all the time about these new exercises that I’m doing to help my hip, it’s like everybody feels that way! The other thing is that I would direct people, there’s so many people that are really good. I don’t work with any of these people, but I know them. Jill Miller has things that she can teach people about self-mobilization for those that say that they don’t know what to do. I like Jill Miller, I like Kelly Starrett and what happens is, if you see one, it will lead you to the next. So Kelly Starrett wrote a book called Becoming A Supple Leopard. These are people that give you these proactive tools. Even though we’re talking about motion, we all know that the #1 is just food right? It’s like there is no way around it. Food is everything. So no matter what, I want to encourage people that we focus on the training, this and that, but what’s so important is that it is all about our nutrition. It’s a bummer because it’s the hardest one and it’s the one that could be the most sexiest or fun that we use to medicate like I'm bored, I'm heartbroken whatever. But I want to encourage people to not give up on that because that is the most important part of this whole equation.
AM: You’re a brand ambassador for Rebalance Health. What is synergistic to you about incorporating this into your lifestyle and what made the partnership right for you?
GR: Well, typically, I don’t know why I have always been like this, but even in my early 20s when I was first starting out in this work, I would never talk about things or represent things that I wouldn’t personally take. I will say that in the case of Rebalance for example, they wanted to vet me as well. I took the product for a lot of months actually maybe 5 or 6 months because you have to feel it right? Especially with things like this which are subtle. So what attracted me to the product initially was that it felt realistic to me, it was easy to use, it had a melt in your mouth lozenge, they have 3 kinds of mint in there and it didn’t say it was going to do this overnight – it’s a system to help you manage cortisol levels. I am familiar with a lot of the ingredients – ashwagandha and maca. The womens formula is different than the mens imagine that! They have things like tongkat ali which I know about from Laird which can boost or support your system for testosterone. Just things like that – I felt that this was well created and formulated and the ingredients were high level and it was very thoughtful. There was this idea that some people thought that cortisol was bad, but no we want cortisol – it helps us get a lot done, but we do want to manage it so that we can have a restful sleep.
I love that there is the Morning, Evening and Bedtime. That made sense, the ingredients made sense, it’s easy to use and it’s achievable. If you tell someone to take this 30 mins after you eat and 4 minutes before something – no one is going to do that. I love the other side. I know that this is pretty obvious, but I love it when there is no downside!
The idea of something being really good and things like this that are focused on natural herbs, they elevate your own system so that it can do its job better. When I hear things like that, that I believe. I started taking it and for me, I had an energy and my sleep improved. For me, that has always been my Achilles in terms of my sleep. I do a lot of mind grinding like a lot of people and trying to solve all the household issues at night when I’m sleeping or when you get up at 3am and you think, I’m going to tell that kid that thing tomorrow! It really helps with that and I felt that pretty quickly. For me, it was about a week and then we collaborated and after checking me out, we agreed to work together and that's how we got here. For me, it's in my cabinet and the way that I do it, I have coffee in the morning and as I’m running out the door, no one wants coffee breath and I’ll just pop my Rebalance Morning lozenge in the morning and it’s like boom I have mints and it’s melting. I want to encourage people that try the product, please don't eat it just try to let it happen so that you can absorb it through sublingually – let it melt. It’s one of those ones where I know how hard it is to formulate it and to bring it at such a high level and to encourage people to do it this way. I feel really honored.
AM: I have been taking it for the past few days and I have noticed that my sleep is better. The Morning part, I have it after my protein shake as the shake is a bit dense so it’s good to have something to freshen up with after drinking it.
GR: Yes! Doesn’t it help – it’s like the double whammy! When I use my Night one it’s when I’m preparing dinner, because you’re just held in one spot and I just sort of pop it in and then I let it happen. What I say to people is for the Bedtime one, if you’re taking a shower before you go to bed, maybe pop one in and just let it happen.
What has your boyfriend thought about it?
AM: I know the Morning one was a bit much for him as the minty aspect was a lot for him, but I think that he liked the Bedtime one. I like that it’s something that we can do together as it sits on our vanity and it’s a system. It gives you something to add into your day, I like the stickers and the packaging!
GR: It’s beautiful! Then they do the refills which is less packaging and it’s just the bag.
AM: I think that it’s something that is working for me and it’s nice after that first protein shake – I chug it and put the lozenge in.
GR: I think that they want people to know that it’s not a sleep aid, but because you are dealing with your cortisol levels, it helps you manage and that ends up leading to a better more restful night sleep. We’ve talked about movement and food, but we all keep our sanity and the only time that we recover is when we’re sleeping. Whether you want to manage weight, deal with vitality, longevity or you just want to look younger, it’s sleep.
AM: I do have to say because I check my REM cycles and stuff, I feel that I have gotten 20 – 30 mins more of the REM sleep.
GR: Interesting.
AM: I’m not saying that that will be the case for other people.
GR: No no it’s your experience.
AM: Yeah, it’s something that I have seen and in terms of things that I do for my sleep, I feel that that tablet has something to do with that over time. So if that’s what it is for me, then bring on the tablets!
What will your partnership look like in terms of what you will do with Rebalance Health?
GR: One thing I am excited about is the ability to do giveaways and to give people the opportunity to try it out. They've been very kind that once a month that we do 1 female and 1 male giveaway so people can try. It will really be about hopefully using the idea that the credibility that I represent that people will say that they are curious to know more. There is also an educational component as well for people in terms of how they would use it in their own lives and why.
So not to make it too technical, there has to be an educational process because it would be too hard for people to try something new where people have to take it orally and not sort of give them some information. I think it’s important to empower people in any part of this whether it's exploring physical health or nutrition and what have you. They have to understand their why and providing that user friendly information especially since it’s new and they haven’t taken certain herbs or things. What’s the difference and certain things have a systemic impact on you and it’s understanding that whole organism and system. I take it, I want to give it away and if makes sense for their day to day lives, I want them to know about it and why they should take it. We’ll be doing that in the upcoming months and year. My thing is, if I find stuff that is good, because it is hard to find things out there that are, we need to put some light on it. I use this and I find it to be really good and if you were my girlfriend down the street, I’d be like, I learned about this or I saw that and I would vet it first so that you’re not coming back to me 6 months later saying, “hey Gabby, I don’t know about this.” The other part is making sure that I am being responsible. I want to feel good about things and feel proud to work with companies and that if people are trying it out, they are your friends.
It’s like when I go to a doctor, I ask them, what would you tell your sister? I treat everyone like my neighbor. If I’m not going to do it, I wouldn’t suggest it to someone else either.
IG @gabbyreece
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | Gabby Reece
Read the NOV ISSUE #83 of Athleisure Mag and see THE WELLNESS ADVOCATE | Gabby Reece in mag.
For this month’s cover story we catch up with Kenji Fujishima, who is Head of Cultivation at Dr. Greenthumb and Insane OG Brand. He shares how he befriended B-Real over martial arts training under his world-renowned father as sensei; going on the road with the Cypress Hill crew; and growing weed together to become legends in cannabis culture. Kenji recounts tours and trips in Amsterdam; the origin and viral smash following of Kush Bubba (known as Bubba Kush) and Insane OG; and the insane path from growing underground and the Dr. Greenthumb hit anthem to going legit with Dr. Greenthumb’s dispensaries taking over California and expanding to legal states across the US as cannabis mainstreams. Their mission is admirable and necessary in delivering top quality products at an array of prices, while helping legacy farmers grab their share against corporate giants pushing to overtake the scene. We also delve into how cannabis is increasingly crossing into sports, health and fitness, and leisure activities, particularly with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu smoke and roll, and their Team Insane recently featuring the exciting Nicky and Jacob "Jay" Rodriguez at Subversiv 7, their participation in High Rollerz, and more.
ATHLEISURE MAG: So you met B-Real through a friend around 1993 at a Cypress Hill Show, with the Beastie Boys and Rage Against The Machine?
KENJI FUJISHIMA: Yeah, I went to school with this girl and her boyfriend sold weed, and by way of linking with him in that sense, he was like one day, do you want to go check out a show? And it was with Cypress Hill, Rage Against The Machine and the Beastie Boys, a Leonard Peltier Benefit close to LA; at Dominguez Hills College, and we all pretty much started hanging out from there. You can imagine that line-up it was nuts.
AM: It sounds it! So you guys were hanging out and then started training martial arts together too? I see from your background you started doing Shotokan from age 5, right?
KF: Well my father is a world-renowned Shotokan master, I kinda grew up in the dojo. I started training when I was like 3 1/2 probably a little bit more serious by the time I was 5, because 3 1/2 is pretty young, you’re just still getting real legs under you. Both my brother and I, from the time we were in cribs we were in the dojo, and then by the time we were walking we were on the dojo, and when we were actually cognitive of learning things, that’s when my dad started putting Gi's on us and training us.
AM: And B-Real was doing Taekwowndo before?
KF: Yeah, he was already training, we shared the love of the martial arts and stuff, and after many months of checking my dad out, he wanted to switch it up from Taekwowndo to training with my dad. I want to say that probably happened early '94.
AM: That's cool. So when did you get into cannabis?
KF: Oh man, well I've been smoking weed since late '80s maybe like '88-'89, I barely turned 15 years old. Put the first plants, just like from bag seed in the ground around '91. And it just evolved from there, you know. The first time I went to Amsterdam was in ‘96 with them and that’s where I really saw seeds and everything for sale. I mean it was just a whole new world when you saw seeds for sale - it kind of all happened at the same time, right. Like we were seeing stuff in Amsterdam and then we were seeing things starting to change back home with weed. Because around ‘96 we were starting to see little things of OG Kush coming. So those years '96, '97, and '98, I would say where my career in cannabis started taking shape.
AM: Got it. Amsterdam is crazy! There are menus, and even more, there’s the culture.. different vibes and types of world music, like we had never heard of Alpha Blondy, all of those different kinds of hash - you just start experiencing some similar things in and around all of the coffee shops - that has never been re-created yet!
KF: Yeah, you know the culture definitely is really different over there. You know nothing like we were really used to seeing like being able to walk into a shop, buy weed, smoke it, drink some coffee, have some food and just bullshit all day if you'd want to. There were the smartshops where you could walk in and get mushrooms. We had times where we were just trippin' out in the Amsterdam streets, which was pretty wild when you have a crew of like 10 or 12 people.
AM: No one should be fooled by the small mushrooms, those things don't go by the size!
KF: [Laughing] Yeah those small ones, those things did some damage, they were no joke.
AM: We want to go over that story with the original Bubba, and how that blew up! Sounds like a crazy time how it went viral and blew up.
KF: It was one of those things.. At that time weed was like Indo, maybe it was Chronic you know. There weren’t too many different strains in the early 90s, like you saw Skunk, Northern Lights, a lot of the stuff we were seeing with seeds and stems, not like Mexican Brick Weed, but it was green, it was ok. Once the Hydro stuff started coming, it was so expensive, like less than a gram for $20-$25 bucks, so you barely got a joint. Always worked, but like man that was expensive. So we wanted to mess around with the whole growing thing. By the time we had started doing the Bubba, we had grown out some things, but those were from seeds, we never kept any of the plants, we didn’t know really too much about cloning or any of that other stuff. So when the Josh D crew and our crew connected and we got a hold of the Bubba seeds, that's really some our first attempts.
At that time we also had the genetics, some of the seeds from Amsterdam, where we were popping all of these things to try to figure out what's a really cool plant. That’s when I really learned to clone and keep strains - the start of that. The Bubba was given to us by a friend that regularly went and saw Josh D and Matt Berger, they call him “Bubba.” We kind of popped all of those seeds at the same time. We were popping some of the ones we got from Amsterdam like White Russian, White Rhino, Cali-O, and a few other things. And it was like our first real phenohunt, the same batch of seeds was coming out looking different, smelling different, and totally different characteristics and whatnot, and we came up with that one pheno that became to everybody the Bubba Kush. It was so different from what we were seeing in weed at the time from the brightness of the colors, the stickiness of it, the smell, I mean literally that thing stunk up entire neighborhoods from not many plants! We had never seen anything like that as far as plants in front of our face before.
AM: That was all in B-Real's house?
KF: That was in B-Real's house, we put a couple of plants outside, which were the first flowered out Bubba plants. We built a little mother/propagation room, he had an upstairs bedroom with a bathroom and we did it in there, and we used his garage to build the first set of lights. I want to say we had like four lights and that grow kind of became the influence of the Dr Greenthumb song.
AM: So how was all that? We had the honor to talk with B about how that came about. How was it when the song was written and the choice to have the track be what is and not to go commercial with it necessarily..
KF: You know, I guess I really didn’t think about it too much at time just because we were road dogs, we were like already together all of the time. If we weren’t together at the house or going out doing some shit, we were in the studios or karate studio, and I guess it was cool because maybe I knew him for 4 years or so. Just to hear him writing verses on stuff we were doing at his house was cool, but i didn’t really think that was going to change so much stuff for us because that was B-Real, he was already talking about weed. I didn’t think this Bubba Kush or this Kush Bubba was going to change a lot of the culture of weed out there, and definitely think between that and OG pushed a lot of people growing weed in the valley at that time. It spread so fast, there was nothing else that you could do to make that much money at the time. Even though we weren’t doing it at huge scale at that moment, for us we were getting like $7K or $8K a pound and you’re talking about ‘97, ‘98, '99 and 2000’s at the time, and people loved it and it was great weed. It made and ended a lot of good friendships, I’ll tell you that.
AM: All good things do..
KF: You know, money always has the tendency to do that to people. You see a lot of true sides come out, a lot of like long and what I thought were tried and true friendships came astray because of it, but we kept doing our thing. At B-Real's house, it was all pretty much personal stuff, and then at my house I started putting up rooms to pay for extra bills and stuff like that, and sometimes I’d have a roommate to take care of stuff when we were on the road and over the years of being in a bunch of different studios and a hell of a lot of tours. We were gone for like 6-9 months out of the year for a long time, we would always have our weed and when you took stuff like that to the Midwest or East Coast or even overseas, not many people had seen quality stuff like that. So it definitely changed the landscape of what we knew cannabis as it existed at that time.
AM: Did we see that you guys put Snoop on to some stuff too?
KF: Yeah, there was a studio session, and B-Real wanted to link.. oh god this had to be like ‘98-’99-ish, might have even been 2000, but where he wanted to give Snoop Dogg an oz. of the weed, there wasn’t really production of it. You were lucky if you could get an 1/8 in those days and it was like $100. An oz. you know just in general was like $500. Yeah Snoop wanted one and he thought we were going to give it to him. I was like it wasn’t even mine, it came from my boy’s spot, and yeah he had to pay the $500. He at that time, he hadn’t seen nothing that looked like that. You know it that Ooh Wee Snoop Dogg type thing you know. I mean for me, I was already just amazed to be hanging out with Snoop Dogg and crew. B-Real's definitely responsible for it being introduced to a lot of artists out there that talked about it and kind of showed off whatever they had over a lot time and a lot of fans were built over those studio sessions. A lot of creative stuff was done I’m sure.
AM: How much time was put to doing martial arts when the tours were going on?
KF: When the tour was going on not that much. It was attempted, but between going out there originally to train with him, and kind of becoming a roadie at the time and learning the ropes, and those guys with their press schedules and rehearsal, and shows and traveling. Those kind of tours are super tiring, we got to train here and there, but not really anywhere like we wanted to. But I'll tell you B-Real stayed very consistent at home, at the dude almost got to be a Black Belt. He was very serious about it that’s for sure!
AM: We caught the Insane in The Brain documentary for Cypress Hill on Showtime, and it ends with a quote that's very gripping that hits as a throughline for us... "It's one of those eternal flames that we all just keep lit, all of us keep going and being masters of our crafts, better men, better friends, better at business - I mean look at us, 30 years later it was all organic." Seems to be such an important statement right there, what does it mean for you to be the Director of Cultivation for Dr. Greenthumb and pulling in the prior underground lines with Insane?
KF: It means a lot, right. We've been doing our thing for so long on the underground, and never really turned it to a legIt brand. We were busy touring, we loved what we did with the cultivation, and the flavors and the smoking and stuff like that. Everybody was just busy doing the thing you know, we had to be dodgy about it though - we were growing in like houses and bedrooms, spare rooms and guesthouses and everything. The lifestyle wasn't like glamorous as far as the cultivation was concerned, we lived really grimy. The plants got better and the bigger bedrooms. Half the time we were sleeping in like living rooms or the smallest room of the house. Everything was always fucked up because you can't always be super clean and too nice blowing up an entire residential house you know or multiple houses like we did. There was a lot of work put in, but it’s great to see it transition now into a brand that is literally just growing every day.
The team is getting bigger and stronger and with any business and any new crew a bunch of mistakes are made, and we all learn from that and hopefully we don't repeat any of the stuff and we keep on elevating what we do. We don't look sideways, we don’t copy what other people are doing, we just do what we like, we grow what we want to smoke, and if people like it that's great we're going to keep doing it – and if they don’t that’s everybody’s individual opinion in life and we accept that. We just want to keep the people that support us happy and keep bringing new stuff. Thats our goal.
AM: Dr. Greenthumb's has new category offerings from the Legacy, Loyal and Unapologetic lines, it seems incredible that you can get different quality, choices and price points for different kinds of smokers.
KF: So over the years we've built up a lot of relationships with different kinds of farmers, you know some of those being outdoor, or full sun or greenhouse, mixed light or indoor - we know not everybody can afford the top quality, like let's just say Insane bags that might be like $50, $60 an 1/8 at a store. But if there's like sungrown, or mixed light or greenhouse that we can work with our people that we can get to the price points that we want that can be the most affordable, then we want to do that. We don’t want these legacy guys and girls that have been doing this work, you know ended up a lot them in jail, raided, stolen from, killed whatever, like there are so many things that have happened to the people that have tried to bring this culture forward! Now that they are not necessarily struggling, but it is a struggle every day because now its mainstream, all these companies with super deep pockets are coming into the space and not understanding the culture or really caring about the culture. All they care about the money, and them thinking they’re going to come in and take it from everybody. For me, I felt it was kind of a responsibly to help keep these legacy operators active and at least do whatever I can to help support them as long as we know they’re doing the quality, we know we want to work with them and actually instead of just whitelabeling or purchasing whatever they do, them getting the proper recognition for their efforts.
AM: That’s mad cool. Literally Farm to Table
KF: It’s Farm to Table, that’s right yeah.
AM: So tell us about the Garbage Test and the 1, 2, 3 thumbs up test..
KF: We got a bunch of guys over here, we're all friends and we're all stoners, and we see a lot of weed come through these places. And for us it's cool because these people want to submit these products to make it into these Greenthumb bags or Insane before bags and whatnot, you can always appreciate peoples’ efforts, but we can’t put out garbage. So it’s just a test, even our own stuff that we grow, we do the same thing. If I grow, let’s just say 10 new strains, I’m gonna put them on the table and I’m telling everybody OK honest opinions, you tell me what we all like, and it’s just a rating system based off of smell, taste, effect - there’s levels to it. Because for me I don’t want to grow stuff people don’t like. For us we like stuff that’s a lot heavier, so we kinda gauge to the stuff that's a little bit on the stronger side. And that’s it, you know if it’s good and if a majority of us like it, it might make it to the next phase depending on what we are trying to do and how many strains there are. We've all literally had sessions where we all smoked 16 joints each and each joint was a different strain in a test, you know at one time, and it was a 5-6 hour smokeout and I think we kept 2 of those.
AM: You had how many?
KF: Out of 16, 2 that we kept. Not saying those other 14 weren’t good. They just didn’t fit the profiles we were trying to achieve at that time.
AM: You had raised strain standardization before, makes a lot sense..
KF: Well, not saying everybody growing the same thing, but standardizing ways to do it, like we want to keep consistency, especially a brand operating in multiple states. So if somebody goes to a store over here and they buy, whatever an OG Kush from us, we want to be the same over there, not just produced by somebody and it’s totally different and somebody and it’s totally different and we just called it this. Yeah standardized is hard, because there are a couple of different levels of smokers over here. Some people want it the same, they want that same strain all the time, just like us we love OG Kush we're going to die by that you know what I mean that’s our stuff. But like other people want flavors, and people get bored of stuff. Some of these strains may have a year, 2-3 year cycles before people are bored of it. Like Ice Cream Cake or any of these other ones, even though there are a lot of people that buy it, names get played out, artwork gets played out. So you just gotta keep it fresh and always come with quality. We standardize the procedures of what we do so that our stuff comes out, hopefully, the same every time. There are plant issues or failures that might lead to one or two batches here and there not making the cut, but for the most part standardized methods to produce the same - that’s important.
AM: So the Insane Brand is sponsoring Team Insane for the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for Subversviv 7 on June 11 on Fite TV. How did you guys put this sponsorship together and connect with Nicky Rodriguez, who is just blowing the sport up with his brother. How did this come about?
KF: Well one of our buddies was working with the Subversiv crew, I think he’s catering the event, and he knows we’re into martial arts and whatnot, and that I've been involved with High Rollerz camp that does the stoner Jiu-Jitsu stuff too and he passed it to our team, and of course B-Real and I loving and appreciators of martial arts definitely wanted to be involved, we thought Insane kind of fits into the mixed martial arts category and we wanted to be known as more than a cannabis brand.
AM: Yeah speaking of Insane, I mean Nicky has been wrecking people.. It’s just been incredible how he's been progressing to the whole industry, that’s going to be sick, his brother too!
KF: That’s what I’ve heard, I didn’t know too much about these guys, I took my eye off paying attention and when all of this came up, and I saw what these guys were doing out there - it's kind of shocking how much this sport has been coming up and evolved, and guys like those brothers that are out there just slaying people. So I’m honored to get to meet them and see these guys rolling and go fuck some shit up. I love the sport and the level of these guys training it’s definitely something to watch.
AM: The High Rollerz looks cool too, how did you connect with that and for those that don’t know that they have cannabis as part of the rulebook and the sport too.
KF: My buddy Matt Staudt is one of the founders of it and right when they were launching we were talking a lot and we just wanted to support that too. It was super interesting that the mainstream people started hearing about the Jiu-Jitsu and grappling events happening, but for as long as I’ve been around Jiu-Jitsu a lot of the guys that have been involved in that have always been smokers - like smoke and roll. It seemed to be one of those things where you smoke before you go roll, and be in that zen spot and then training was just like that. B-Real and I would go smoke and then train with my dad for a 2 hour training session, so you know some people function on it, some people don’t. For us, smoking puts us into a certain zen where our concentration locks into whatever we're into at the time.
AM: Yeah there’s a certain cerebral zone you can hit right. And for recovery too - so it can be good for training, fighting and recovery?
KF: Well for me, definitely on the recovery side too. I’m pretty much always hypertensive. I had back surgery back in ‘02 and so i pretty much did my whole recovery drug-free minus cannabis. It was a little different because the injury that I had, like even when I coughed it hurt, so I had to be careful about how I was smoking so I wouldn't choke too much, but it would definitely help me relax and help me get into sleep versus taking a bunch of pills that were making my stomach bad. To this day, peoples’ addiction to pills is crazy, I just never wanted to go that route, so my medicine has been cannabis you know.
AM: Makes sense the stories with the pain pills, just a couple of missteps and anyone can take a wrong turn with that.
KF: You never know, today there’s Fentanyl and people are dying from the smallest dose where they’re just normally taking a pill or doing something they’re used to and they’re just dropping dead. I don’t really need to worry about that because I’m not taking pills. It’s just something I’ve never been into, you do, or do too much of that and you can’t control yourself, with weed I’ve always felt I’ve been able to micro-dose myself. I guess you can say control hitting the joints or however just to get to the point where I’m good and that’s it, and then I’m going do what I’m going to do. Smoke a joint and go ride 20 miles on a bike just in my zen spot or smoke and hike or go train or whatever. Yeah THC and the other cannabinoids and things like that the compounds in cannabis definitely have medicinal properties and should be researched a lot more so the people can find the benefits from the use of it.
AM: Yeah we're still scratching the surface, between all the different cannabinoids, the terpines and the entourage effect.
KF: 100%
AM: So when you see customers coming in, you have different groups of people where some see the different Indica and Sativa; some looking for the highest THC possible; others CBD.. will people more and more see what their personal relationships can be and become connoisseurs?
KF: That and combined with education, a lot form people walking into dispensaries and are just asking the budtenders ‘what’s your strongest stuff;’ or ‘what do you suggest;’ or saying they like this, this and this; or the whole Sativa and Indica thing which I personally really don’t believe it too much anymore these days. There’s a lot Sativas that look like Indicas, I mean it’s a very hard thing to really solidly I guess to say because there are so many things are crossed these days. There are hybrids and poly hybrids, a majority of stuff you really can’t say is a solid Indica or Sativa, with the exception of maybe a few strains out there. Once people understand the entourage effect and where terpines and other cannabinoids combine, and even the method ingested being smoking or eating, have a big deal how it impacts a certain individual.
AM: So what’s coming down the pike for Dr. Greenthumb’s, you guys are opening up stores everywhere and more states are becoming legal, and you have all these new lines?
KF: Definitely a few more states that are being locked in right now for retail; as well as the possibility of some third-party stores carrying the Insane and/or Dr. Greenthumb brands; we're going to continue to partner with farms to add genetics to the roster of Dr. Greenthumb as well as new skus be it joints, vapes, or concentrates and whatnot, and the same with Insane - Insane will have a lot of new proprietary stuff we're doing, a lot of breeding is going down this year, as well as phenohunting, so we're going to see a ton of new strains coming out probably toward the end of the year, first quarter next year - and beyond that, we’re working stuff on right now that will be released under both lines, merch, extreme sports - keep moving, keep building this culture.
AM: Who are 3 people that have inspired you along your path and journey?
KF: My father for one, he gave me my work ethic and discipline to do what I do.
My wife, actually has been pushing me to kind of come out of the shadows, right. I never really talked about what I did. I never cared about interviews or cameras, we were old school guys, that didn’t talk about it, we just did it, to kind stay out of jail. And this community, B-Real - that dude gave me an opportunity back then to come work for Cypress Hill and I was not in a good way back then, I was making some stupid decisions. That guy, by bringing me into the crew and allowing me to do what I do and make use of the resources that came around to the camp, that really changed my life and I’ll say it now and I’ll always say it that changed my life and I’ll never forget that.
Nicky Rodriguez is taking the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu sport by storm. He transitioned from wrestling in college and had breakout success taking home Silver at ADCC ‘19 as a Blue Belt. Dubbed as the ‘Black Belt Slayer,’ he trained under legend John Danaher, and recently splintered off to co-found The B-Team, based in Austin, Texas. We chat with Nicky Rod about BJJ; training for ADCC ‘22; cannabis and the sport; team-building and nutrition; as well as fighting for Team Insane at Subversiv 7 this past month, with his brother Jacob “Jay” Rodriguez and female fighter, Alex Enriquez.
ATHLEISURE MAG: We see that you wrestled in college and made the move to do Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, what was involved with making the switch?
NICKY RODRIGUEZ: It was a bit of a tricky transition. There are some things that coincide, like Jiu-Jitsu often times we start from a standing position, so Americanized wrestling is a small aspect of the sport. There's a lot of things I had to adjust as a wrestler you know, you want to take your opponent down but there is always a threat of a guillotine or other submissions, so I had to really solidify a solid defense to have success when trying to be offensive.
AM: You were training under John Danaher?
NR: Yeah I was training under John Danaher for maybe about 3 years, and man I learned a lot, you know the guy is brilliant in his space and dedicated his life to the sport. So I was just there to soak up a bunch of knowledge and it was very beneficial.
AM: And you guys formed the B-Team in Austin?
NR: We opened up B-Team in Austin about 6 or 8 months ago, it's been going well. We're a private competition-based facility. Eventually we'll open up to white belts, newcomers and outsiders, but for now it's a strictly private location.
AM: And it's an elite gym, so you have to be pretty advanced to apply?
NR: You have to be pretty advanced. We have some lower level guys, that compete pretty well, they train hard. You don’t have to be a world beater to be in our gym, but have to be willing to learn and train often. Most train twice a day and want to be professional athletes. We just are keeping it like that because we're athletes ourselves in our prime and we're still looking to compete, and win and grow. Yeah it's been a fun ride so far.
AM: What's next for Mexican Ground Karate?
NR: Well, ADCC Titles are our main focus. ADCC World Championships are the ‘Olympics of Jiu-Jitsu' in September. We have about 6 guys going from our team, potentially more because we have Australian and Asian trials very soon, and a few guys competing over there. We'll have quite a few guys at the event and would be nice to get some gold medals.
AM: In '19, you just dominated people and you got the Silver medal and had a blue belt!
NR: Yeah, exactly. I was a blue belt at the time and was training Jiu-Jitsu for about a year and a half. I won the ADCC trials and then with the year and a half experience I ended up taking second at the World's. That's pretty much why people got to know me, because it was not seen before, a wrestler making a transition so fast successfully as I had. So it definitely opened people's eyes to how they can input NCAA wrestling into Jiu-Jitsu. Now you see a lot more quality wrestling in the sport, and yeah the Americanized wrestling in Jiu-Jitsu has been much more prominent over the last several years.
AM: And they were calling you the Black Belt Slayer?!!
NR: Yes, that’s definitely a name that stuck. People liked it, I liked it. It seemed pretty memorable, so I just rode the wave on it.
AM: And now you’re a brown belt, we see you got it earlier this month..
NR: I got my brown belt a few weeks ago actually. So I’m a new brown belt, still plenty to learn, still fresh in the sport you know. I think it takes time to get acclimated and keep learning, it's about how many reps you do, you can know moves, but you really have to learn and be in-depth with those moves.
AM: So how many divisions are you going for in ADCC ‘22?
NR: I'll be doing the heavyweight which is over 99kg, which is no weight limit, I’ve had guys from 200 to 300, 360, and then the open weight division where you can have much smaller quota like 125lbs all the way to the biggest guys. So absolute division is the most recognized and more valued gold medal you can get because there is no weight class and you are the absolute champion.
AM: You just fought in Subversiv 7 on Saturday, how did that go?
NR: We had a team event at Subversiv 7 with 30K Grand Prize, I was representing Dr Greenthumb and Team Insane OG, they treated us very well when we were out there. It was a high level competition. Team Insane OG did well, we had some wins, we had some losses. As a team, as an event - it was fun, man. A lot of people came out, it was good to see the support in LA. It was a great event.
AM: How did you connect with those guys?
NR: I got contacted through social media, they were looking to expand in the Jiu-Jitsu world, they see the kind of content I put out, and it was a mutually beneficial relationship. I believe social media has a lot to do with an athlete’s success in the business world. Obviously you have to win, but you also have to tell a story. That’s what I do online, tell a story, so it’s a really good relationship with us working together.
AM: How was it fighting with your brother, was this was the first time in a major match fighting with him together?
NR: Yeah it was the first time we stepped on the mat back-to-back and on a team at the same time. In high school we wrestled at the same school and stuff, but I was graduating when he was getting into high school, so we never got to be on the same team together. So it was a great experience.
AM: And he is a blue belt right now? It seems like he is also starting to take the sport by storm, following your, and taking his own footsteps, it is a crazy parallel..
NR: He is a bit of a Black Belt Slayer himself, you know. He's been training for about a year and a half. He just did his ADCC trials where he got his purple belt on the podium, right, but out of 7 matches, he also sub'd all 7 opponents, most of them high-level black belts. I would say his trajectory is even bigger than mine, just because the results he has had at a year and a half you know, I was at ADCC and winning matches, but he is finishing high levels guys with minimal experience and that's honestly never been seen before. We’ve seen me use wrestling to negate Jiu-Jitsu and win, but Jay with a year and a half, he has been using strictly Jiu-Jitsu to submit opponents. So it’s something different and the speed of which he is doing it has never been seen before.
AM: What are some lessons and recipes about making good teams, be it about Jiu-Jitsu, corporate or in general?
NR: To make a good team.. First you need knowledge, you need to have somebody where most people can go to answer questions. Also, it's important to have conversations before and after practice about things you’re having issues on. Many don’t know the right questions to ask. It's a solo sport, although you’re training with teammates, it’s only you out there on the mat. So when you’re practicing you really need to figure out what you’re having problems with and specify what they are so you can ask your coach. So having the knowledge, having people on the team that can answer those tough questions and consistency. Being consistent with your training, for me I train everyday and that’s how I like it. Other people can get away with training less and do well. You can’t expect results to come fast. I think people train a couple times and expect it to work immediately. Things take time, and through pressure and time you can make diamonds man.
AM: It was cool to see you with Team Insane OG. What are some of the cross overs of Jiu-Jitsu and cannabis culture?
NR: Most of the community uses it, whether for nighttime or right before training. It enhances my mood, how I think cognitively about certain things, sometimes it changes the perspective that I’m having, so I can see and move different, or make certain adjustments.
AM: Is that smoking or edibles, in what format?
NR: Usually burn it, maybe roll up a joint or use a bowl. Joint is pretty easy and pretty immediate effect.
AM: Any particular strain?
NR: I’ve had Insane OG, probably the best strain I’ve ever had to be honest.
AM: Yeah shout out to them.
NR: For sure, Dr Greenthumb and Team Insane OG, those guys hold it down for sure!
AM: Have you competed in High Rollerz?
NR: I had a competition at High Rollerz a while back. I did one of their beginning events, it was fun man. I know the guys that own it, run it. They put together a great event. It was great to see the two worlds collide, the hip hop, the cannabis and Jiu-Jitsu culture. I think the two blend together, it just had to be in the right format.
AM: It’s about the vibe, serious but fun, all the blends together -
NR: I think the Jiu-Jitsu world makes it a bit of a party, when you come out to a show, it's not Jiu-Jitsu and leave, you know it’s good music, good vibes, people are drinking, food, there’s a lot going on, it's more of a spectacle, a fun event instead of a quick jits vibe.
AM: You have a handle @nickyrodeats, is that about wellness and food too?
NR: Well it's something personal I’ve been collecting like a food blog, I eat clean - like mainly meats, fruits and veggies. I post the cheat meals too, you know sometimes I grab a coffee and a donut, or some ice cream or something. It's not far-fetched to have a sweet tooth and display that, but it is something I’ve been kind of blogging about with no real direction. I think eventually I’ll have some more in depth content, maybe a Youtube channel. But it's a bit hard to focus on being an athlete and content, so for now I have to really mitigate my time where my thoughts are going.
AM: Sure it will come in time, people will be interested.
NR: Yeah I’ll keep posting, growing it little by little, and when I’m ready to fully commit to it, I’ll be ready.
AM: Who are 3 people that have inspired you along your journey?
NR: I'd say my coach John Danaher, the most inspiring, at least the most valuable asset to my immediate growth. Second, my dad, because hard work runs in the family and it is important to see it first hand, experience it first hand, that way so we can display it often. Three, I would say myself, I’m pretty much self-motivated. I never really get up and have it not hard for me to get going, I never really waste any time or have wasteful thoughts. I like to gear my day towards something positive, towards the next things.
AM: Cool. What do you think can help mainstream Jiu-Jitsu to levels like MMA and boxing?
NR: I think of this here and there. Getting on a major network, like ESPN would help. There are a few things that hold it back.
I think there are lot of different rule sets within the sport, I think it makes it harder for viewers to follow. I think honestly this year’s ADCC will help push us closer to becoming mainstream. It’s a bigger prize, a bigger spectacle, the event itself will be massive. But if we had a huge Grand Prize like maybe $1M to win the absolute devIsion, I think that will pull a lot of people out of their seats and come watch, or just be intrigued, and potentially make it more mainstream to see these guys fighting for a million rather than 10k, 20k or 50k.
AM: Well we'll be rooting for you! You're style is entertaining and your definitely an inspiration for us and a lot of people.
IG @killdrama
PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS | Front/Back Cover, 16 - 19 + PG 70 9DRIP Eitan Miskevich | PG 20 - 23 + 27 - 35 Pedro Garcia | PG 24 Showtime |
Read the JUN ISSUE #78 of Athleisure Mag and see SMOKE & ROLL | Kenji Fujishima in mag.
We're kicking off the year with our 73rd cover, 3 X Consecutive Pro-Bowler Darius Leonard of the Indianapolis Colts. Known as The Maniac on the field for his energy and the ability to make productive plays, he is also known for his commitment to giving back.
We caught up with Darius days before the Pro-Bowl for his virtual shoot as well as to find out more about playing for the Colts, being in this season's Hard Knocks on HBO and The Maniac Foundation.
ATHLEISURE MAG: When did you fall in love with football and what was the moment that you knew you wanted to play professionally?
DARIUS LEONARD: Started playing football at the age of 8. Fell In love with the game at age 14. Didn’t think about playing professional football until about my junior year of college and that’s when I started thinking about the NFL and that I could possibly have a chance.
AM: You were drafted in 2018 – what was that process like for you and what has it mean to play for the Indianapolis Colts?
DL: Draft process was tough coming from a small college. I had lot of visits and people flying me out to make sure I was who I was. Had to play senior ball then after Senior Bowl I popped my quad running the 40 at the combine and after that I thought my draft stat would fall and then fortunately I was drafted by the Colts and that means a lot being drafted by a team that is known for championships and that’s been my mentality to be a winner and that’s why I am happy to be a Colt.
AM: How did you get the nickname, The Maniac?
DL: Energetic and productive playing.
AM: When you’re in the season, what’s a week like for you from working out, practicing etc and how does this differ in the off season?
DL: During the season my week is pretty tough. After game Sunday I get in the hyperbaric chamber and spend some time with the family. Monday is a lot of body work and massages and hyperbaric chamber and ankle work. And then Tuesday I start watching a little bit of tape and a little body work and get in hot and cold tubs. Wednesday and Thursdays wake up at 6am get home around 7/8pm. Friday is a big work day for body work. Then Saturday is relaxation day and Sunday is game day.
AM: When you’re hitting the gym, what workouts do you do that allow you to optimize your sport?
DL: When I hit the gym I do a lot more of the explosive stuff. Continue to make sure I have that quick twitch, a lot of squats & snatches. Making sure I am hitting the field pretty heavy making sure my feet and hand placements are good. Make sure I am doing good at my drills that I gotta do when the game is coming.
AM: This season was a great one to watch and it was nice to also have the team on HBO’s Hard Knocks In Season so that we got an inside look on what you and the team do on and off the field. It’s one of my favorite shows that lets us see the practice and camaraderie you have with one another as well as the friend and family support that exists. What was it like being on this season and being able to share more about you and your family with the fans?
DL: Hard knocks was great being there. It was fun having them get our back story of who we are as players and human beings. Fun having my family and seeing their reactions during the games and stuff like that because those are things that I never get to see so it was fun to have hard knocks there to make that visible for us since I never get to see it.
AM: Although you won't be heading to the Super Bowl, the Colts are sending the most players to this year’s Pro Bowl and you will be returning for a 3rd consecutive time. How have you been preparing heading into the Pro Bowl and how do you train and get in sync with fellow teammates that you are not used to playing with?
DL: You know for Pro Bowl I don’t do too much for it. I just make sure I am staying in shape, and make sure my lungs are good so if it’s a long drive I am ready for that. Its all about trust, you get the playbook, and you just trust the guys to be professionals and know they are going to do their job and I am going to do my job. Everybody do their 111 just to make their play work. Looking forward to the Pro Bowl and looking forward to playing with teammates I have never played with before.
AM: How do you take time for yourself?
DL: Off the field I really don’t take too much time for myself. If I’m home with the girls or at a high school doing community service to be a positive role model on these kids lives and try to find a way to give back as much as I can – that’s what I like to do in my free time. I want to be the spotlight for these little kids and try to make a way for them and let them understand that you can be someone and it don’t have to be football related and make sure they know there are multiple ways to get out there and make an impact and that’s what I like to do to help kids as much as I possibly can and be their role model.
AM: When you’re in Indianapolis, where can we find you enjoying a date night?
DL: In Indianapolis, if I am on date night and out and about I am definitely going to Hyde Park and getting their fried lobsters and I am getting their crab cake, their steak, potatoes, and my wife is definitely going to get her asparagus and that’s about it!
AM: Last year you launched the Maniac Foundation which supports those in Indianapolis and Lake View communities in South Carolina - can you tell us more about your organization?
DL: The Maniac Foundation was launched March 2, 2021. The foundation is dedicated to transforming communities through education, wellness, serving families in need and other charitable causes. The foundation has provided over 100 bikes to children in foster care, books and backpacks for students, winter coats, holiday gifts and over $25,000 in charitable grants.
AM: What can we expect to see from you and the Maniac Foundation this year?
DL: The Maniac Foundation is refurbishing a park in Lake View. Hilltop Park will be receiving a makeover complete with a new playground and new basketball goals. We are partnering with the Indianapolis Public Schools District, Lake View Elementary and Lake View High School to kick off the Mind of Maniacs Reading program (kids are required to read 10 books) and the Math Maniacs Math Program. High performing students will have the opportunity to attend an Indianapolis Colts home game. We are having a big volunteer event at Midwest Food Bank in Indy to help pack food boxes for those in need. Starting this spring I will record monthly messages directed towards individuals working on their mental health.
AM: How can those who wish to support you be part of the foundation?
DL: Please visit http://www.maniacfoundation.org to find out how to volunteer with the foundation or make a donation to support our initiatives. You can follow us on social media at @ManiacCares.
PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS | COVERS, PG 18 - 25 Paul Farkas | PG 16 Colts | PG 26 Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire | PG 28 Jeffrey Brown/Icon Sportswire | PG 30 + 31 Darius Leonard |
Read the JAN ISSUE #73 of Athleisure Mag and see Impact the Game | Darius Leonard in mag.
